Police detective suspended for 17 months reinstated

A Spokane police detective suspended without pay for 17 months during a domestic violence investigation and trial has been reinstated after an internal affairs investigation concluded there was insufficient evidence for disciplinary action. Detective Jay Mehring, acquitted in October by a Spokane jury of felony harassment for allegedly threatening to “burn down” his house with his wife in it during an emotional divorce, returned to work Monday. After his acquittal, he remained on paid administrative leave until the internal affairs investigation was completed in December. The city of Spokane has reimbursed him $127,946 in back pay and interest. But he “paid dearly” for a private attorney and a $100,000 bond to remain free pending trial, Mehring said Wednesday. He has been assigned to the targeted crimes unit but has asked to be reinstated to the regional drug task force where he worked for years as an undercover detective. His 2009 salary is $77,088, according to city records.