means the attorney appointed as General Counsel for the Virginia State Police Association or any attorney appointed and acting on behalf of the Board.

means the currently elected Board of the Virginia State Police Association.

a claim or formal complaint made against a member for the member’s direct conduct during an occurrence.

includes expenses incurred while pursing the representation of a member for a covered occurrence. This may include administrative costs, court costs, transcript fees and expert or investigator fees. Expert and investigator fee are permitted upon an affirmative majority vote of the Board.

means a formal accusation made by a governmental authority asserting that a member has committed a crime.

means any investigation of an occurrence undertaken by a law enforcement agency which may result in a charge.

means any occurrence involving substantial harm to a person which creates or results in significant likelihood of civil liability, criminal investigation or criminal charge, as determined by Association counsel. Critical incidents include, but are not limited to, criminal investigations of shootings, in-custody death and serious uses of force.

means any lawful General Order, policy, training or directive of the Virginia Department of State Police existing at the time of the occurrence.

means any dues paying member adhering to the by-laws of the Association and conducting him or herself in a manner consistent with the good reputation of the Association.

means a member of the Virginia State Police Association in good standing. Official Duties – means duties for which a member has received Department (or Department approved) training or direction. Intentional or deliberate criminal or civil wrongs undertaken by a member may deem actions to be non-official duties.

means the requirement of a member to provide written notice of a covered incident, within seventy-two (72) hours of the occurrence, to the Virginia State Police Association at 6944 Forest Hill Avenue, Richmond, VA 23225 (Attention General Counsel); by fax at (804) 320-2616 (Attention General Counsel) ; by E-mail to vspa@vspa.org (Attention General Counsel). Notice includes the name of the member, a general description of the incident and a request for legal representation. Notice of a critical incident and the request for emergency representation may be made directly to Association counsel by phone at 804-495-1015 or other means of verbal or electronic contact. The requirements of written notice may be waived by a majority vote of the Board.

means any covered civil claim against a member, criminal investigation, criminal charge, or administrative greivance of a member resulting from an action or omission by a member which arose out of and in the scope of employment with the Department and when such actions were within then-existing General Orders, policies, training or directives of the Department.