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March 25, 2009 in City
Native Americans air concerns over verdict
Mayor, police chief listen to Olsen trial impact
Native Americans confronted city officials on Tuesday evening with their frustration over the acquittal of an off-duty Spokane police officer who shot a young American Indian man.
Mayor Mary Verner and police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick attended a forum at the NATIVE Project and health clinic in the West Central neighborhood.
“This does not feel like a safe community to me,” said Shelly Boyd, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. “The system cannot bring us justice. It scared me to know police officers were cheering that verdict.”
On March 13, a Spokane County Superior Court jury found suspended Officer Jay Olsen innocent in the shooting of Shonto Pete after a chase two years earlier in which both men were drunk.
Pete spoke at Tuesday’s forum about the need to bring pride back to Native people in Spokane.
He and his family were among about 100 people gathered in two concentric circles in the NATIVE Project’s great room. They spoke one at time and were moderated by Raymond Reyes, Gonzaga University’s associate vice president for diversity.
They stated the problem as seen from a Native viewpoint. There is racial profiling by the police, they said. Many do not trust the officers paid to protect them. The city lacks cultural awareness, which they said is not taught in the schools.
“I am no stranger to violence or death,” said John Dressler, a Coeur d’Alene tribal police officer who fought as a Marine in Iraq. “It would be morally offensive to me to clap for someone who did what Olsen did.” He referred to Spokane police officers present at the verdict in Olsen’s trial.
Before the forum, Breean Beggs, of the Center for Justice, who was invited by Native leaders to attend, summed up what he saw as the community’s central complaint. Lawyers have come to expect that jurors will make a decision based on reasonable doubt, he said.
“But it appeared police endorsed what happened” based on the officers’ response to the verdict, on a detective’s letter to the editor in The Spokesman-Review and particularly to Kirkpatrick’s remarks reported in the newspaper.
Beggs said residents are looking for police leadership to tell them it’s not “us against them” but got was a different message.
Tuesday night, the Indians stated their grievances. They admitted shortcomings among many Natives, including epidemic drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence.
But these did not mitigate the injustice they felt as a result of the Olsen case.
“This remains unresolved,” said Deb Abrahamson, a Spokane tribal member. “We need an independent, an objective investigation.”
Verner and Kirkpatrick praised the dignity of the forum and the respect they were shown at it. But they did not respond directly to the call for an independent investigation.
Stepping to the center of the circle, Kirkpatrick said that she was proud to be chief of Spokane police. With her job comes responsibility, she said.
“This investigation is not over,” she said, adding it will be hers to conduct. “And I will not be compromised, and I will not be bullied.”
Kevin Graman can be reached at (509) 459-5433 or kevingr@spokesman.com.
Rights panel poorly understood 
lewis8457 on March 25 at 9:04 a.m.
I think Kirkpatrick is confused the police are the ones doing the bulling not the citizens.
ChefGus/ John Olsen on March 25 at 10:38 a.m.
This has the same “feel” to it as the Forum Chief K had with the GLBTA community in september about two years ago.. after the Suicide death of Mr Levy etc…. She was felt to be abusive and not very good at listentning to us at that time either…
I was not aware of this gathering till late last evening, and feel it could have been held in a larger setting and many of us in the “Anglo” community who are in strong support of the Ombudsman and a police force that does not scare “community of other” folks…
Most officers i’ve met and spent time around are very very high quality good folks… but the High Fives and cheers supporting the outrageous behaviour of Officer Olsen does give one pause… and why, oh why were there even SWAT team members in uniform at the trial verdict… street clothes would seem to be more appropriate… john olsen
jenny on March 25 at 2:38 p.m.
Good observation. I feel that the police knew that the verdict was going to be “not guilty” and it all appears very suspicious. They were there to taser and shoot people in the head most likely and fortunately no one was carrying a bottle of pop. The Native American community should not be called “community of other” folks because they are all human beings. What is the other? Aliens from another planet? What is “Anglo” are they human beings too or aliens? No wonder the city has such a problem. There needs to be a coming together of peoples and not categorizing everyone by the color of their skin or their nationalities. That is what is needed to promote peace and understanding amongst people. The few cops who are bad make the rest of them look bad too. When an officer gets in trouble they should be layed off without pay until the problem is corrected. Then it won’t take two years to correct the problem. The chief of police needs to answer to someone and not be the lord and ruler. I never heard of such a thing where a person gets to collect money they did not work to earn, and being on paid leave for two years is atrocious. People that sue others are an exception because the damages they are suing for compensates for that. Sometimes it might be the only remedy when the so-called justice system is biased.
ChefGus/ John Olsen on March 25 at 4:46 p.m.
Jenny, I apologize for any affront you may feel at my coined term “community of other” which is my way of characterizing ALL of the folks that are on the outside here in Spokane. you may or may not know that I spend most of my waking hours with the low income, mentally disabled, mentally ill, physically disabled, differing sexual preference, persons from the Indian Community, the Veterans able and disabled, and on and on… the very folks that are NOT treated well at all by our local police force and elected officials when they speak at city council etc. My “grouping” is an Inclusive group…. anyone who wishes to belong/support us is heartily welcomed…. those working for Peace and Justice Issues, Health Care for all, housing for all, food for all are under that roof…. All of us are outside the power structure and are seen by groups such as the Downtown Association, Greater Spokane etc etc… as “other” ie Not Us… and Mr Peets’ case is symbolic to other than the Native American/Indian community… and important to all of us that are working for peace and justice for everyone as is afforded us in the words of the constitution.
My prayer too , is that there would not be a “community of other”… and that we could all see the inter connectedness of our selves to our brothers and sisters on this ship called earth. Thanks for your comments john olsen Volunteer Chef at Shalom/Central Methodist Church…
ChefGus/ John Olsen on March 25 at 4:50 p.m.
Addendum:
“When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food they call me a communist.”
Brazilian Archbishop Dom Helder Camara
Gus
jenny on March 26 at 8:46 p.m.
Apology accepted. I am glad that you are doing well in the community and you understand what it means to live in poverty. Some people don’t choose that lifestyle but it just happens when there are not enough jobs to go around and so on and so forth. It is also unfortunate when the ones who are monetarily richer look down their noses at someone who doesn’t make as much money as them. It is better to give thatn to receive and your rewards in heaven will be plentiful.
TourismAlert on March 31 at 3:15 p.m.
I have read this article and I have to say your city scares me. I work with many countries and ethnic groups that are always looking for new destinations. Believe me your city scares me, to think a person can say someone stole a truck and shoot them without a shred of evidence while being intoxicated, an officer at that. On top of that the D.A and the jury seems to think this sort of stuff doesn’t effect tourism dollars and can let this clown walk. If I owned a business in this town a change in leadership would be the first thing to change and damage control would be second. For how bad your economy is your law makers don’t seem to care how safe visitors might feel. My advice to travelers is if you wanna stop for the night and have a drink. “Drive to the next town” you might run into a drunken cop at a bar with a loaded gun and a scared jury to back his stupid actions. As for the Natives that live in the area, spend your money somewhere else. Money is the only language that these people know. Take that away and changes will happen.