News Release for Immediate Release January 10, 2006 LexisNexis and Westlaw Will Publish Decisions Issued by the Office of Police Complaints   (Washington, DC) The District of Columbia's police accountability agency, the Office of Police Complaints (OPC), today announced that its police misconduct decisions will be published in the online legal databases maintained by LexisNexis and Westlaw. LexisNexis began carrying OPC's decisions online in December while Westlaw will start including the decisions in the spring.   The addition of OPC's decisions to the two largest online legal databases in the United States marks an important step in the development of the agency, making OPC the first and only police oversight agency in the nation to have its decisions published by either LexisNexis or Westlaw.   OPC's decisions are issued by independent complaint examiners, who have been approved by OPC's governing body, the Police Complaints Board (PCB). There are currently 18 complaint examiners, who are distinguished attorneys who live in the District and who work, or have worked, in government, non-profit organizations, the private sector, and academia.   To reach their decisions, complaint examiners review OPC's investigative reports, hold evidentiary hearings when necessary, and apply the rules governing police officer conduct. After the decisions are issued, the agency forwards all sustained decisions to the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) for review and the imposition of discipline.   Page 1 of 2      1  2