P.R. Laws tit. 25, § 3122
The regulations shall determine the faults of the members of the Force entailing disciplinary action. Said faults shall be classified as serious or slight. The regulations shall prescribe the pertinent action pursuant to the provisions of §§ 3101 et seq. of this title.
Disciplinary action for slight and serious faults shall be [set by] the regulations, which shall determine which persons shall have the power to impose sanctions in such cases, as well as the procedure to implement these, subject to the following:
(a) Procedure for slight faults.—
(1) The punishment that shall be imposed for slight faults shall be the following: suspension from employment and salary not to exceed thirty (30) days; the rendering of community services, or a combination of any of the above. In the case of suspension of employment and salary, the Superintendent of Police, with the written consent of the defendant, may commute the punishment imposed to the member of the Police Force on a maximum of two (2) occasions within a period of five (5) years and have said punishment charged, fully or partly, to the vacation leave or overtime to which the member of the Police Force is entitled.
(2) Should the member of the Force concerned disagree with the decision of the Superintendent, he/she may appeal the case before the Investigations, Prosecution and Appeals Commission created under §§ 171 et seq. of Title 1, before which he/she shall be entitled to a hearing pursuant to the established terms. The appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after the notice of the punishment issued by the Superintendent or his/her designee has been served.
(3) The Commission shall resolve the appeal within thirty (30) days after it has been filed. Should he/she fail to comply with the aforementioned term, the accused shall be entitled to appealing [for] aid [from] his/her jurisdiction within a term not greater than thirty (30) days. The writ of appeal must be accompanied by the corresponding allegations indicating the [inappropriateness] of the punishment.
(4) It shall not be obligatory to follow the Rules of Evidence which prevail in the courts of justice in any procedure carried out under the provisions of this subsection.
(b) Procedure for serious faults.—
(1) The file on the investigation of any serious charge shall include a full report concerning the charges brought against the accused member or members of the Force. The processing of the investigation and remitting of the file shall be done without any unnecessary delay. The regulations shall determine which officials shall have access to the investigation file.
(2) The punishment that shall be imposed for serious faults may be one of the following: reassignment of duties or posting, transfer, permanent expulsion from the Corps, demotion or suspension of employment without salary for a period not to exceed five (5) months.
(3) The charges for serious faults shall be stated in writing and signed by the Superintendent [or] the Associate Superintendent.
(4) The Superintendent shall be empowered to temporarily suspend any member of the Force from employment while any investigation ordered concerning the incompetence, misconduct or crime of which said member of the Force is accused is being performed. In that event, the Superintendent shall proceed to have the corresponding charges brought against the accused without unnecessary delay and shall investigate and resolve such cases as soon as possible, imposing the punishment he/she deems reasonable within the limits of §§ 3101 et seq. of this title, or providing that the person concerned may return to service with or without reimbursing his/her salary earned, during the suspension period, if the facts should so justify it in his/her judgment.
(5) Should a member of the Force be suspended from employment and salary for any reason whatsoever, he/she shall be barred from performing his/her duties as such. Neither shall he/she enjoy the rights and privileges which are granted to the members of the police by law, while said suspension is in effect.
(6) The Superintendent, after perusing and analyzing the case file and having given the accused the opportunity to be heard, shall resolve the case, absolving the accused or imposing the punishment he/she deems reasonable, as provided by clause (2) of this subsection. If the member or members of the Force concerned have been declared guilty of misconduct, the Superintendent shall provide the accused with a copy of the document containing his/her decision, which shall be confirmed through the signature of the latter and shall include the date and time of notice. The procedure for these cases shall be determined through regulations.
(7) In any case in which sanctions which entail suspension from employment and salary are imposed, the Superintendent, at the request of the accused, may commute said sanction for additional services to the Corps equivalent to the term of the suspension.
(8) Any member of the Force against whom the Superintendent has dictated an adverse decision may appeal the case before the Investigations, Prosecution and Appeals Commission, created by virtue of §§ 171 et seq. of Title 1, before which he/she shall be entitled to a hearing pursuant to the terms established in said sections. The appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after the notice of the punishment has been received.
History —June 10, 1996, No. 53, § 23; July 15, 1999, No. 146, § 1.