Myth:
The Union will advise you to make false or misleading statements,
or little white lies to save your behind.
Absolutely
not true!! The Union does not condone this kind of
behavior.
Any
time you are involved in an incident in which you believe
you could face disciplinary action, always, always, always
take careful notes of anything and everything that occured
as soon as possible, while it is still fresh in your head.
If
you are being asked to give a voluntary statement
to an entity such as OIG, you do not have to participate
in the interview. (Remember, if OIG wants to interview
you, you should treat the situation as if you are being
questioned for a crime, because that is how they are treating
it.) In most cases, if you decline a
voluntary interview with OIG, they
will order you to give an interview, in which case you have
been compelled to give testimony and will be offered Garrity
rights giving you asylum from criminal prosecution.
If you are ordered to give testimony,
either as a principle or witness, be sure to contact your
Union representative (See article 31 B, Section 3).
Once
you have contacted a Union Representative, briefly do
not tell them everything about the incident! However,
give them a brief idea of what the incident is about.
Remember, Union representatives do not have attorney/client
privileges. You will be given ample time to converse
with your Union Representative. IF
you feel that criminal charges could be brought against
you, you or your Union Representative should contact the
PORAC LDF immediately. PORAC LDF representatives will
take down general information about your situation, assign
you a case number for reference, then they will have you
contact the appropriate legal defender, with whom you will
advise of your situation in greater detail. If it
is determined that PORAC LDF would benefit you (Remember:
PORAC LDF is only for criminal investigations), you may
have the legal defender represent you in the interrogation.
You
will be provided ample breaks during interrogation to converse
with your Union Representative. The Union's role in
assisting you is to help clarify questions, identify the
scope of the investigation, and to make sure that the interviewer/interrogator
is conducting an impartial interview. Your Union Representative
cannot object to questions, answer questions for you, or
stop you from answering questions.
If
you don't know the answer to a specific question, don't
try to answer it. Just tell the interviewer, "I don't
know". Most importantly, never give a full
narrative of the incident. Let the examiner "lead"
you through the interview through their questioning.
Additionally,
once the interview/interrogation is complete, you're done
talking. It is not wise to make small talk about the
incident following the interview
