41°
May 30, 2009 in City
Protest outdraws ombudsman forum
Only two residents ask questions of candidates
Staff writers
Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane director Liz Moore called for independent oversight of the Spokane Police Department on Friday. “Anything less is insulting to the people of this community and won’t repair the relationship between the Police Department and the people they’re supposed to protect and serve,” she said.
(Full-size photo)
The warmest day of the year appeared to be enough to keep crowds from a Friday meet and greet with the three finalists vying to be Spokane’s first police ombudsman.
Fewer than a dozen people – including two residents and a few city staff members – showed up in the City Council chambers for the first of three public forums with candidates Tony Betz, Tim Burns and Greg Weber.
“I was surprised by the turnout,” said Mike Cronin, one of two community members who capitalized on the opportunity to quiz each candidate.
The low attendance at the forum set up by city leaders was in contrast to events earlier in the day at the Chase Gallery inside City Hall. There, a coalition of social activist organizations demanded a halt to a process they see as flawed.
“Fix it before you fill it,” said Liz Moore, director of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, which took the lead in organizing opposition to hiring an ombudsman who will lack independent investigative authority over police.
“Even the best candidate for this position will be hamstrung and toothless” without the authority to conduct independent investigations and “will only deepen distrust between citizens and police,” Moore said.
Neither Mayor Mary Verner nor any council members were present to hear the coalition’s demands.
“We’ve seen this cycle in Spokane before: a horrible incident of misconduct or racism, followed by righteous public outrage, followed by meaningless reform that’s just a waste of time and money,” said Deb Abrahamson, a Spokane tribal member and director of the SHAWL Society, an advocacy group based on the Spokane Indian Reservation.
Other speakers included representatives of the low-income advocacy group VOICES, the Spokane affiliates of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Progressive Democrats of America, as well as Shonto Pete, an American Indian who survived being shot by an off-duty Spokane police officer in 2007.
At 5 p.m., city staff presented to a much smaller crowd the three finalists for ombudsman: Betz, a retired FBI official and Texas A&M University instructor; Burns, a retired police officer and neighborhood preservation officer for Visalia, Calif.; and Spokane attorney Weber, a former deputy director of the state Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and deputy prosecutor in Okanogan and Pierce counties.
Only the two community members asked questions, including about the handling of the 2006 death of Otto Zehm, who died after being beaten and tied in police custody during the investigation of a crime he did not commit, and the shooting of Pete. The two incidents were the catalyst for creation of the ombudsman position.
Cronin wanted to know how the candidates would ease the community’s mistrust of police, especially following those events. After the forum, Cronin said he favored Weber, because he was the only one without a background in law enforcement.
“I think he’s the gentleman who can bridge the gap between our community and the Police Department,” Cronin said. The other two candidates are “like the fox watching the hen house.”
The City Council approved the ombudsman position last year after negotiations with the city’s police unions, which by law have a say in police oversight. But in doing so, the council disregarded many of the recommendations of a consultant hired by the city.
The ombudsman will be able to send complaints to the department’s Internal Affairs office but cannot conduct his own review or release names of principals in complaints.
The coalition protesting Friday prepared a draft of a proposed ordinance to establish an independent office of police oversight to substitute for the ombudsman ordinance approved by the council.
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ChefGus on May 30 at 6:57 a.m.
Thank you for the coverage… i'd have liked to have had more details on the “protest” part.. and an explanation of why the protest was separate from the forum?? and how many armed police officers there were at each function?? chefgus
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dick adams on May 30 at 12:49 p.m.
The farce was merely a facade.
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Concerned_Zag_Citizen on May 31 at 11:59 a.m.
The Two Candidates plagued with Law Enforcement Corruption and “Experience” were duly anointed and tagged as “THE FOX WATCHING THE HEN HOUSE”. That metaphoric descriptor is most illustrative, and quite funny to boot! I would love to see the Spokesman's Cartoonist Get to Work on that visual.
Accordingly, let's not let the Corrupt Retired Copper-Chitlins “COME BACK [To Spokane] TO ROOST” !!!
FYI…”Chitlins”, often spelled chitterlings, are a type of food made from PIG intestines. YIKES!!!
My most humble support, too, is cast in favor of “Mr. Independent”, Greg Weber.
Please challenge me with an intelligent, reasonable, and informed reply/comment. I also challenge you to be polite. At least fake it. Please restore my faith in those of differing opinions…please!
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jenny on May 31 at 7:44 p.m.
I think it was a good thing that there were no police officers there because they have been known to shoot to kill first and for trivial matters. There needs a clear definition of when and when not to use lethal force. There needs to be accountability and not just an ombudsman who has no clout. It would be an embarrassing job to say the least because your duties would be limited. The one hired might just have his own desk but it would be empty. Can you see the ombudsman scratching his head and wondering what his function really is? I agree a cartoonist would have fun with this. Taking it to an extreme, if the ombudsman did try to raise an issue about unfairness in the police force, he would just have everyone turn their backs on him and go along with their business of breaking policies and the law…
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Igor on June 08 at 10:48 a.m.
I came to the realization long ago that the Spokane City Council, prosecutor's office and police dept. are about as corrupt as any city's can get.
Over a year and a half ago when I took Chief Annie to task over the Roske incident, she was both supportive of her officers and chagrined that anyone could doubt that they were less than honorable. In that incident, it was Lt. Judi Carl's kids who were caught destroying property in the middle of the night, yet Roske was the one threatened with 26 years in prison if he didn't plead to a misdemeanor. Btw, nothing happened to Carl's kids.
Two days after meeting with her, Chief Annie threw me to the wolves at the Citizens Review Commission, where I stood up for Roske. City attorney Piccolo had asked for my evidence of wrong-doing but didn't bother to review it. Behind closed doors, this toothless commission decided against Roske without explanation.
Shortly thereafter, the commission was disbanded. The reason given was that no one had come before this group of elites because there had not been any complaints against the SPD in over 10 years. As Dr. Evil said, “Riiiight!”
I have protested (and was interviewed by Ms. Pailco of Seattle when she was making recommendations to the city) and written letters to no avail. I strongly supported an oversight committee of at least 7 people from all areas of the community. I'm sure dozens of honorable citizens could be found worthy and would do it for free to keep the PD on the right track.
I foresee only one outcome: in less than 3 years, the city will be reviewing this position and some idiot in power will make another silly recommendation. But, hey, this is Spokane - as corrupt as it can get.
Bob DeMotte
Spokane
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jenny on June 11 at 10:00 p.m.
My sentiments exactly. Corrupt to the core and no one knows what to do about it. Help….Summers coming, more people staying up late and the sharpshooters are out late too. It is not safe…..it's scary…
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