Law Enforcement Officer Motor Vehicle Crash and Struck-By Fatality Investigations; Notice of Public Meeting; Request for Comments, 2445-2447 [2018-00649]

Agencies

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2445-2447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00649]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[CDC-2018-0005, Docket Number NIOSH-303]


Law Enforcement Officer Motor Vehicle Crash and Struck-By 
Fatality Investigations; Notice of Public Meeting; Request for Comments

AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and solicitation for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is 
seeking stakeholder input on NIOSH's Law Enforcement Officer Motor 
Vehicle Crash and Struck-by Fatality Investigations--a pilot program.

Table of Contents

 Dates:
 Addresses:
 For Further Information Contact:
 Supplementary Information:
 Background
 References


DATES: A public meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 27, 2018, 
from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, or until the last public 
presenter has spoken, whichever occurs first. Please note that public 
comments may end before the time. Members of the public who wish to 
provide oral comments should plan to attend the meeting at the start 
time listed. As an alternative, electronic or written comments must be 
received by April 17, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Office of Justice 
Programs (OJP), 810 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20531. Attendees will 
be escorted to the room from the security checkpoint.

[[Page 2446]]

    Written Comments: You may submit written comments by either of the 
two methods below.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health, NIOSH Docket Office, 1090 Tusculum Avenue, MS C-34, Cincinnati, 
Ohio 45226-1998.
    All comments received in response to this notice must be identified 
by CDC-2017-0118 and Docket Number NIOSH-303. All relevant comments 
received, including any personal information, will be posted without 
change to www.regulations.gov. To access the docket, read background 
documents or read comments, go to www.regulations.gov and enter CDC-
2017-0118 in the search field and click ``Search.'' All information 
received in response to this notice will be available for public 
examination and copying at the NIOSH Docket Office, 1150 Tusculum 
Avenue, Room 155, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226-1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Moore, NIOSH, Division of Safety 
Research, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, 
telephone (304) 285-6016, facsimile (304) 285-5774 (not toll free 
numbers), email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Registration: Notification of intent to attend the meeting, either 
for participation or to make presentations, must be made by email to 
Paul Moore, email [email protected], telephone (304) 285-6016, facsimile 
(304) 285-5774 or John Myers, email [email protected], telephone (304) 
285-6005, facsimile (304) 285-5774 no later than February 12, 2018, for 
U.S. citizens, and no later than February 5, 2018, for non-U.S. 
citizens, to allow sufficient time for mandatory facility security 
clearance procedures to be completed. Priority for attendance will be 
given to those providing oral comments. All requests to present should 
include the name, address, telephone number, relevant business 
affiliation of the presenter, and a brief summary of the presentation. 
After reviewing the requests for presentation, NIOSH will notify each 
presenter of the approximate time that their presentation is scheduled 
to begin. If a participant is not available when their presentation is 
scheduled to begin, the remaining participants will be heard in order. 
Presenters who missed their assigned time slot will be permitted to 
present later in the meeting if time permits.
    Status: The meeting is open to the public, limited only by the 
space available. The meeting space accommodates approximately 150 
people. There is no registration fee to attend this public meeting. 
However, those wishing to attend must sign up by the dates noted in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section with the contact persons in this 
notice.
    Security Considerations: Due to mandatory security clearance 
procedures at the location of the meeting, in-person attendees who are 
U.S. citizens must sign up with either of the contact persons 
identified in this notice by February 12, 2018, and present a valid 
government-issued picture identification to security personnel upon 
entering the building and go through an airport-type security check. No 
weapons will be allowed inside of the building.
    To attend in person, a non-U.S. citizen must sign up with either of 
the contact persons identified in this notice by February 5, 2018. They 
will also need to provide passport information and photo identification 
to security personnel upon entering the building and go through an 
airport-type security check. No weapons will be allowed inside of the 
building.
    To allow sufficient time for mandatory facility security clearance 
procedures to be completed, non-U.S. Citizens must provide the 
following information by email to Paul Moore, email [email protected], 
telephone (304) 285-6016 or John Myers, email [email protected], telephone 
(304) 285-6005, by February 5, 2018: Name; gender; date of birth; place 
of birth (city, province, state, country); citizenship; passport 
number; date of passport issue; date of passport expiration; type of 
visa; U.S. naturalization number (if a naturalized citizen); U.S. 
naturalization date (if a naturalized citizen); visitor's organization; 
organization address; organization telephone number; and visitor's 
position/title within the organization. Priority for attendance will be 
given to those providing oral comments. This information will be 
transmitted to the CDC Security Office and the Office of Justice 
Programs Security Office for approval. Non-U.S citizens will be 
notified once approval has been obtained. If approval is not received, 
non-U.S. citizens will not be able to attend the meeting.

Background

    In the United States, there are approximately 765,000 state and 
local law enforcement officers (LEOs) working in stressful and 
dangerous conditions. LEOs are at increased risk for both fatal and 
non-fatal injuries, especially those occurring from motor-vehicle 
incidents. According to data from the National Law Enforcement Officer 
Memorial Fund (NLEOMF, 2016), 135 officers were killed in the line of 
duty in 2016; 47% were from intentional acts of violence (n = 64), 39% 
were motor-vehicle related (n = 53), and 13% were due to other causes.
    Motor-vehicle related fatalities have been the leading cause of LEO 
line-of-duty-deaths in 15 of the last 20 years. As of November 14, 
2017, the number of LEO line-of-duty-motor vehicle-related fatalities 
was 41. Between 2010 and 2014, 58% of fatal motor vehicle crashes were 
single vehicle crashes. [NLEOMF, 2016]
    While the number of LEO motor vehicle-related fatalities remain 
high, efforts towards the collection of data on the circumstances and 
characteristics surrounding motor-vehicle related events for prevention 
purposes are limited. Detailed information on the causes and risk 
factors for LEO motor-vehicle related fatalities can provide 
stakeholders, researchers, and the law enforcement community with 
information to develop evidence-based prevention programs and policies 
to reduce crashes and injures.

Project Description

    Under the Law Enforcement Officer Motor Vehicle Crash and Struck-by 
Fatality Investigations project, NIOSH staff have conducted field 
investigations of LEO line-of-duty-deaths due to motor vehicle crashes 
and being struck-by moving vehicles. This pilot project, implemented in 
partnership with the National Institute of Justice through an 
Interagency Agreement, sought to identify motor vehicle related 
fatality risks for LEOs and develop industry-wide recommendations. The 
project aimed to:
    1. Learn about the motor vehicle-related risks LEOs are exposed to 
by studying the circumstances surrounding motor vehicle crash and 
struck-by fatalities,
    2. Explore the feasibility of using NIOSH Fatality Assessment and 
Control Evaluation investigation techniques to identify contributing 
factors for these fatal incidents, and;
    3. Disseminate NIOSH developed injury prevention recommendations to 
stakeholders, researchers, and the law enforcement community.

Methods and Approach

    The project evaluated whether the NIOSH Fatality Assessment and 
Control Evaluation (FACE) methodology could appropriately collect 
information on the circumstances and contributing factors related to 
motor-vehicle fatalities among

[[Page 2447]]

LEOs. The FACE method follows the public health approach that the 
etiology of injury is multifaceted and injury is preventable. FACE 
collects data about the circumstances and contributors to fatal 
occupational injuries through on-site field investigations. This type 
of detailed data is not generally available from injury surveillance 
databases. As NIOSH does not have regulatory responsibility or 
enforcement authority, agency participation in a FACE investigation is 
voluntary. The FACE method has been used to successfully investigate 
fatalities involving fire fighters through the NIOSH Fire Fighter 
Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program. However, the ability to 
conduct these types of investigations among one occupation does not 
guarantee success in another. This may be especially true for law 
enforcement agencies that conduct vehicle crash reconstructions as part 
of their normal responsibilities. Crash reconstructions generally focus 
on environmental conditions and technical information such as vehicle 
dynamics. However, the FACE methodology evaluates all circumstances 
surrounding an incident, including decedent information, training 
programs, operating procedures, social aspects of the job, equipment 
design, and the work environment to identify contributing factors that 
can lead to the development of prevention recommendations.
    Investigation results are publicly reported through a narrative 
report that describes the incident, identifies contributing factors, 
and provides recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents. The 
NIOSH reports do not determine fault or assign blame. The reports also 
do not identify the victim or other agency members. Reports are 
publicly available on the NIOSH website: NIOSH Law Enforcement Officer 
Motor Vehicle Safety.

Case Criteria and Selection

    In this pilot project, a limited number of law enforcement motor-
vehicle deaths were investigated using the FACE Model. For the purpose 
of this pilot study, the following definitions were used to identify 
law enforcement motor-vehicle fatalities:
     Law Enforcement Officer: An individual involved in crime 
control or reduction and who is directly employed on a full-time basis 
by a university or college, tribal, local, county, state, or federal 
law enforcement agency of the United States or its territories, with or 
without compensation, who is duly sworn and has full arrest powers.
     Law Enforcement Motor Vehicle: A motor vehicle, excluding 
motorcycles, that is owned by any university or college, tribal, local, 
county, State, or Federal police agency. Personal vehicles not owned by 
the agency but used by officers or agents (e.g., undercover) do not 
fall into this category.
     Motor vehicle crash: A crash that occurred while operating 
a law enforcement motor vehicle engaged in pursuit, patrol, emergency 
response, or commute between duty stations.
     Struck-by: A LEO struck-by a motor vehicle while operating 
on foot or in a parked vehicle at a roadside emergency, traffic stop or 
roadblock, or while assisting motorists.
    Several sources were used to identify LEO fatalities that met the 
case selection criteria including internet searches, newspaper 
clippings, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund 
(NLEOMF), and the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). Assistance from 
NIJ was also obtained to identify potential cases.

Results to Date

    From September 2013 through December 2017, through this pilot 
project, NIOSH identified 18 LEO line-of-duty motor-vehicle crash 
fatalities to pursue as potential fatality investigations. Contact 
information for each deceased LEO's agency was obtained from the 
NLEOMF. NIOSH attempted to contact the agencies through phone calls and 
or emails. Of the 18 agencies, 5 agreed to participate in the program. 
Investigations for 3 of these cases have been completed and the reports 
have been published on the NIOSH Law Enforcement Officer Motor Vehicle 
Safety website: NIOSH Law Enforcement Officer Motor Vehicle Safety. Two 
investigations are still ongoing, but should be completed and published 
on the NIOSH web page in early 2018.
    Completed investigations include:

Sergeant Struck by a Motor Vehicle on Interstate Highway--New Mexico
Trooper struck by vehicle while investigating crash on interstate 
highway--Oklahoma
Officer Struck By a Motorhome While Establishing Temporary Traffic 
Control on Interstate--Tennessee

    The NIOSH pilot program has identified unique opportunities and 
challenges for investigating LEO motor vehicle deaths. Unique 
opportunities include: The availability of vehicle dash camera 
recordings to help determine how the event occurred; police crash 
reconstruction reports outlining the vehicle dynamics, and the 
availability of in-vehicle telematics to better understand the speed at 
impact at the time of the event. Challenges identified included the 
delay in initiating investigations because of ongoing litigation 
surrounding the officer's death, and in certain events, the lack of 
witnesses involving single vehicle LEO crashes. We have also observed 
some reluctance on the part of law enforcement agencies to participate 
in a NIOSH investigation stating concerns for exposing the fallen 
officer's family members and department colleagues to emotional 
distress.

Areas for Input

    Specific areas where NIOSH desires input include:
    1. Is the approach NIOSH used to investigate these deaths 
appropriate for the law enforcement community?
    2. Does the approach have the potential to prevent LEO injury and 
death from motor-vehicle incidents?
    3. How can the approach be improved to better focus on the law 
enforcement community's need for prevention of motor-vehicle related 
fatalities?
    4. How can NIOSH better gain law enforcement agency cooperation and 
participation for conducting these investigations?
    5. What is the best way to disseminate NIOSH fatality reports to 
law enforcement agencies, officers, and leaders?

References

NLEOMF [2016]. 124 law enforcement fatalities nationwide in 2015. 
Washington, DC: National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.
NLEOMF [2016] Deadly Calls and Fatal Encounters, Analysis of U. S. 
law enforcement line of duty death when officers responded to 
dispatched calls for service and conducted enforcement (2101-2016), 
Washington, DC: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.


Frank Hearl,
Chief of Staff, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2018-00649 Filed 1-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4163-19-P