CMPD hopes to implement civilian crash investigators by end of the year

CHARLOTTE — The next time you get in a minor car wreck, police officers may not be the ones who respond.

Earlier this year, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced it would be hiring civilian crash investigators. The department said they hope to have them out in the community by the end of the year.

And while that hiring process is still underway, the Wilmington Police Department has been implementing this idea for years.

The department told Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz the move has been a game changer.

Stanley Pollock is one of the trained civilian investigators, and he roams the streets of Wilmington until he gets a call. Sáenz traveled with him as he responded to a minor accident across town. He said his first priority is to show humanity.

“Everybody’s good? Are you hurting at all, ma’am?” Pollock asked one of the people involved in the crash. He then gathered more details, such as driver’s licenses, registration, and insurance information.

Pollock said he keeps all parties separated while listening to each play-by-play of what happened. He said he was not there to determine blame because, by law, he cannot write a citation.

Instead, his job is to make an official report with each party’s information and side of the story. He then hands each copy and lets their insurance companies handle the rest.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Pollock said.

The former police officer said he was the first civilian crash investigator and has been a part of the team for 17 years.

“It’s a fulfilling thing. At the end of the day, I smile, and I shut this thing down, and I’m ready to go home,” Pollock explained. “The people I’m doing it for appreciate it. In the city where I’m working, everybody appreciates us.”

Badged patrol officers told Channel 9 that they really appreciated them.

Lieutenant Greg Willet said the department’s five civilian crash investigators handle 30% of Wilmington’s traffic accidents. That’s 1,200 hours a year on minor crashes that badged officers use to handle. This allows them to focus on higher-priority calls instead.

“It allows more officers to be free; more officers that are free, more officers can answer the calls. More officers can be out on foot patrol. More officers can be seen,” Willet elaborated.

Civilian investigators go through extensive training, as well as spend nine weeks shadowing in the field before responding to minor crashes by themselves.

They are equipped with a notepad and a body camera but do not carry a gun and cannot make an arrest. If things escalate, they are encouraged to call for backup.

“If it’s something that I don’t want to get into, I just say, ‘Send somebody else. Send a uniform officer,’” Pollock echoed.

Pollock went on to say that the job is a win-win for the department, as well as the community, and it should be a no-brainer for other departments.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said they plan to have their program start this summer. While no start date has been given, the hope is to have civilian crash investigators responding to calls by the end of the year.

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