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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Police Review Board Survives More Changes But Two Panel Members Say It Might As Well Be Dead

The citizens board that reviews complaints against the Spokane Police Department struggled through another round of changes Monday and survived.

But at least two members say it might as well be dead.

The City Council unanimously approved changes to the ordinance that regulates the Citizens Review Commission, which was created in March to give people a place to air complaints about police misconduct.

The amendments do two things, said Mike Piccolo, an assistant city attorney. First, they allow commission members quicker access to investigative reports. Second, they specify what the commission can do if members decide a citizen’s complaint is valid: have the police chief take a second look at his or her investigation.

The commission can’t change the chief’s decision in a misconduct investigation.

“This is a facade that’s called a preview,” said Ben McInturff, a commission member and retired state Court of Appeals judge.

Moments before resigning from the commission in protest, Mike Holmes told the council the board gives citizens “false hope” that something might come of their complaint.

“What we have presently does not give any sort of workable type of oversight,” said Holmes, who added he’d been treated with “overwhelming animosity” by officers who disliked his opposition to the changes.

Mayor Geraghty said that while the commission might not be perfect, it is a “step in the right direction. This will gradually evolve into a safety net that will work both in the interests of citizens and police officers.”

City officials have struggled for five years to come up with an oversight board for the Police Department that works.

They thought the latest rendition might. Then, commission members decided that police Detective Tim Madsen used excessive force during the arrest of Davenport, Wash., vegetable farmer Christopher Ostrander.

Mangan had ruled that Madsen was justified when he pulled Ostrander out of his minivan by the hair after the detective stopped him for a traffic infraction in Airway Heights in January.

Ostrander took his case before the commission, which held a hearing and sided with Ostrander. Members recommended that a special investigator be appointed to look into the case.

The Spokane Police Guild, which represents most of the department’s officers, objected. Under the union’s current contract, only the police chief can find an officer guilty of misconduct and decide punishment.

The guild filed an unfair labor practices complaint with the state to protest the review commission’s decision, claiming it violated the contract. The City Council’s Public Safety Committee, which oversees the commission, threw out Ostrander’s case and ordered the re-evaluation of the commission.

Members of the public Safety Committee, the Review Commission, the Police Guild and the Police Lieutenants and Captains Association crafted the new rules.

The guild agreed to drop the unfair labor complaint if the City Council accepted the rules.

Rev. Lonnie Mitchell, the commission chairman, praised the changes, saying it clarified the board’s task. “It may not be a perfect solution for what we all want,” but the commission and council can continue to work to refine it, he said.

Staff writer Adam Lynn contributed to this report.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: COUNCIL ACTION On Monday, the council: Unanimously approved changes to the ordinance that regulates the Citizens Review Commission. According to assistant city attorney Mike Piccolo, the changes allow commission members quicker access to investigative reports, and specify what the commission can do if members decide a citizen’s complaint is valid. Approved a $132,925 contract with the Spokane COPS nonprofit organization, which oversees the city’s community oriented policing program. The contract includes an $18,800 grant from the state.

This sidebar appeared with the story: COUNCIL ACTION On Monday, the council: Unanimously approved changes to the ordinance that regulates the Citizens Review Commission. According to assistant city attorney Mike Piccolo, the changes allow commission members quicker access to investigative reports, and specify what the commission can do if members decide a citizen’s complaint is valid. Approved a $132,925 contract with the Spokane COPS nonprofit organization, which oversees the city’s community oriented policing program. The contract includes an $18,800 grant from the state.