§ 7-291e — Requirements re provision of behavioral health assessments to police officers.

(a) As used in this section: (1) “Administrative head of each law enforcement unit” means the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the board of police commissioners, the chief of police, superintendent of police or other authority having charge of a law enforcement unit; and (2) “behavioral health assessment” means a behavioral health assessment of a police officer conducted by a board-certified psychiatrist, psychologist licensed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 383 or a clinical social worker licensed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 383b, who has experience diagnosing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder. (b) On and after January 1, 2021, the administrative head of each law enforcement unit shall require each police officer employed by such law enforcement unit to submit, as a condition of continued employment, to a periodic behavioral health assessment. Each police officer employed by a law enforcement unit shall submit to a periodic behavioral health assessment not less than once every five years. In carrying out the provisions of this section, the administrative head of each law enforcement unit may stagger the scheduling of such behavioral health assessments in a manner that results in approximately twenty per cent of the total number of police officers in the law enforcement unit receiving behavioral health assessments each year over a five-year period. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the administrative head of a law enforcement unit may waive the requirement that a police officer submit to a periodic behavioral health assessment when the police officer has submitted written notification of his or her decision to retire from the law enforcement unit to such administrative head, provided the effective date of such retirement is not more than six months beyond the date on which such periodic behavioral health assessment is scheduled to occur. (c) In addition to the behavioral health assessments required pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the administrative head of each law enforcement unit may, for good cause shown, require a police officer to submit to an additional behavioral health assessment. The administrative head of a law enforcement unit requiring that a police officer submit to an additional behavioral health assessment shall provide the police officer with a written statement setting forth the good faith basis for requiring the police officer to submit to an additional behavioral health assessment. Upon receiving such written statement, the police officer shall, not later than thirty days after the date of the written request, submit to such behavioral health assessment. (d) A law enforcement unit that hires any person as a police officer, who was previously employed as a police officer by another law enforcement unit or employed as a police officer in any other jurisdiction, may require such new hire to submit to a behavioral health assessment not later than six months after the date of hire. When determining whether such new hire shall be required to submit to a behavioral health assessment, the law enforcement unit shall give due consideration to factors that include, but are not limited to, the date on which such new hire most recently submitted to a behavioral health assessment. (e) Any person conducting a behavioral health assessment of a police officer pursuant to the provisions of this section shall provide a written copy of the results of such assessment to the police officer and to the administrative head of the law enforcement unit employing the police officer. (f) The results of any behavioral health assessment conducted in accordance with the provisions of this section and any record or note maintained by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker in connection with the conducting of such assessment shall not be subject to disclosure under section 1-210 .

Legislative History

(July Sp. Sess. P.A. 20-1, S. 16; P.A. 22-114, S. 1.) History: July Sp. Sess. P.A. 20-1 effective July 31, 2020; P.A. 22-114 amended Subsecs. (a) and (e) to reference a clinical social worker, effective July 1, 2022.