How to File a Complaint

If you wish to file a complaint against a constable, please fill out our Online Complaint Form or print and complete this "Complaint & Statement of Facts" form. You can mail, e-mail, or fax the form to the CESTB office. Be sure to attach any evidence supporting your allegations.

If you have multiple complaints concerning one or more constables, please fill out a separate form for each complaint for each constable.

Once your complaint is received, it will be scheduled for initial screening at the next scheduled CESTB public board meeting. Any complaints or supporting evidence/documentation received within the 48 hour period  prior to a scheduled board meeting will not be considered at that meeting but will be deferred to a future meeting to allow board members ample time to evaluate.  

During the initial screening the board will determine jurisdiction, and may request a response from the constable, who will be allowed 45 days to respond. At any time the Board may request additional information from you, the constable, or another source. When the Board is satisfied all the necessary evidence has been compiled, they will determine if a hearing is required. You will receive a letter(s) notifying you of any scheduled hearings, decisions and actions taken.

Should the CESTB determine a constable has acted in an unethical manner, they can take the following disciplinary actions:

• Mediating, issuing warnings, reprimands or admonishments
• Instructing a constable to take a particular action or educational class
• Urging a constable to retire from office 
• Placing a constable on probation for up to thirty days, except that after the initial thirty days of probation if the constable is making progress on probation but the constable's behavior is not yet compliant, the board may extend probation in additional thirty-day increments up to a total length of probation of one hundred eighty days
• Recommending to the board of supervisors that a constable who has previously been placed on probation be suspended from performing the constable's duties without pay for any specified length of time not to exceed the remainder of the constable's term
• When a constable has committed a criminal act, refer the investigation to the county attorney's office in the county in which the conduct at issue occurred