Spokane7
50°
April 28, 2010 in City
Spokane Police Guild distorted vote on chief
Document shows about 80 members didn’t cast ballots
The extent of dissatisfaction with Spokane police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick among the rank and file may not be as bad as union leaders suggest.
A document obtained by The Spokesman-Review shows Spokane Police Guild leaders misrepresented the results of a recent no-confidence vote against Kirkpatrick and Assistant Chief Jim Nicks. Of the 276 guild members, 112 voted no confidence in the department’s leadership, or fewer than half.
Guild President Ernie Wuthrich insisted earlier this month that more than half of the union’s members had cast no-confidence votes against the chief, not just half of the members who actually cast ballots. Wuthrich has refused to disclose the exact results of the no-confidence vote, saying it’s against union procedure.
But a printed copy of information about the vote that appeared in a private section of the guild’s website was provided to The Spokesman-Review this week. While it shows a strong majority of those who voted approved the no-confidence measure, about 80 members abstained or didn’t vote. The Web page also includes a threat that any member who divulges the tally could face disciplinary measures.
Kirkpatrick and some Spokane City Council members expressed doubt from the beginning that a majority of the union’s membership had lost confidence in the department’s leadership.
The vote, which was conducted in March, was 112 votes of “no confidence in the leadership and decision making abilities of the chief’s office” to 79 votes of confidence, according to the printout. Human Resources Director Dave Chandler said the city’s most recent count of guild membership was 276. That would make a majority of the membership 139.
Guild Vice President Jeff Harvey said Tuesday that the results clearly represented a majority of the guild. The vote was conducted by mail and members had several days to return their ballots, Harvey said. “Everybody in the membership had an opportunity to vote,” Harvey said.
Guild leadership repeatedly refused to release the tally to the media, Kirkpatrick, Spokane Mayor Mary Verner and others, and union officials threatened to take “legal measures” against guild members who revealed the final count.
“Ernie also stated if the numbers get to the chief or the press we will investigate the matter and take appropriate legal measures against the member found to have released the information,” according to a message on the union website written by Guild Secretary Ty Snider.
Wuthrich, a detective, said Tuesday that he would not comment about the results unless the source of the vote’s numbers was disclosed.
Kirkpatrick said the true tally, coupled with support from members of the three other unions within the department, indicate that she maintains support from the rank and file.
“Now I know why they hid their numbers,” Kirkpatrick said.
The Lieutenants and Captains Association and the police employees of the Managerial and Professional Association wrote Kirkpatrick letters of support.
Kirkpatrick said she believes the Police Guild vote was done “with malice,” aimed at her announcement that she would apply for the Seattle police chief position. This week, she was named as one of 11 finalists for the job.
But she said the vote indicates that “there’s a cultural divide in the department.” That divide is about transparency, standards, deployment of resources and other changes, she said.
“It matters to me that I have always had a reputation among the rank and file as the type of leader officers wanted to work for,” she said.
Harvey said the vote isn’t about change or standards; it’s about Kirkpatrick not properly following rules and labor laws when officers are disciplined.
“We have no problem with the expectation of high conduct,” Harvey said.
Guild leaders point out that an officer who was accused of rape and who used a department-issued cell phone to photograph a woman’s breasts was fired even though charges hadn’t been filed. He was given his job back by a civilian arbitrator.
They also note that Detective Jay Mehring was placed on unpaid leave after he allegedly threatened his estranged wife. A jury acquitted him, and Mehring kept his job and earned back pay. In that case Superior Court Judge Michael Price chastised Kirkpatrick for disciplining Mehring before his criminal charges had been resolved, saying her decision “just frankly baffles me,” and was “offensive.”
The chief has said her discipline is made with legal advice and “not made in a vacuum.”
Kirkpatrick said she believes the vote was designed to hurt Nicks’ chances of becoming the next chief if she leaves.
Asked if the recent revelation that Nicks likely will testify against Officer Karl F. Thompson in an upcoming federal trial also affected the guild’s decision, Kirkpatrick said “absolutely.”
Thompson is accused of using excessive force against Otto Zehm, a Spokane resident who had schizophrenia and died after a confrontation with police in 2006.
Guild officials say the Zehm case was not related to the vote and note that the federal filing announcing Nicks would testify wasn’t filed until weeks after ballots were counted.
That 74-page federal filing notes that Thompson was a candidate for the chief’s job Kirkpatrick landed and that officers circulated petitions in support of hiring Thompson.
Harvey said police leadership created a climate within the department that discouraged officers from voting.
“There were some people that were afraid to vote,” Harvey said.
He pointed to a senior staff meeting from Feb. 24. Minutes from the meeting show that Kirkpatrick discussed the pending union vote and encouraged members to participate.
“Chief Kirkpatrick stated that she thinks this is an opportunity for the department to decide, ‘What our values are’ and ‘Do we stand behind the leadership values of this department,’ ” the minutes say. “Chief Kirkpatrick advised that at the senior staff retreat, senior staff agreed that they are behind administration. Chief Kirkpatrick stated that this is a time to step up and be counted.”
Kirkpatrick said she is puzzled at the intimidation accusation because leadership has no way of knowing how individuals voted in a union-conducted mail-in vote.
If she doesn’t get the Seattle job, Kirkpatrick said her plan “right now” is to stay in Spokane.
“I’m hopeful that if I choose to stay, that we’ll have a new tone within the department,” Kirkpatrick said.
City leaders say they continue to support Kirkpatrick.
Some also said they were concerned with the threat that was issued to union members designed to keep the vote tally secret.
“The fact that there is intimidation involved speaks for itself,” said City Council President Joe Shogan.
Staff writer Meghann M. Cuniff contributed to this report.
MAC faces angry crowd 
Another_Perspective on April 28 at 12:51 a.m.
I am so surprised we have a Guild full of liars, and these are the ones we trust to serve and protect us. Obviously the Guild leadership is incapable of integrity and ethics.
I bet the witch hunt is on for who disclosed the vote results under threat of intimidation.
Outside of the Otto Zehm incident which didn’t happen on her watch, I’m behind the Chief 100% come hell or high water.
I wonder if this crooked vote results will be placed in the recently opened Police Museum?
Dazzeetrader11 on April 28 at 1:01 a.m.
If this is true, those two Union/Guild leaders should be discharged forthwith. More dishonety in the police ranks shouldn’t be tolerated.
Nicks has more than enough in his file to preclude him being the next Chief. He doesn’t need negatives from the Guild.
Whatever Joe Shogan says, the truth is likely the opposite. He cannot get anything correct. Spouts his opinions…which are usually corrupted when the truth comes out….if it ever GETS out.
And finally…who’s missing in all this? Mayor Verner…and as usual she wouldn’t know anything about this. This is another instance her “not knowing, shouldn’t be knowing, and stearing clear” of a hot potato. She’s not a sterling example of leadership…even when the City should have a firm hand on the wheel. Spokane seriously needs a new Mayor.
Oh and I almost forgot: where’s the transparency she promised? As her time goes by, things simply are getting murkier and murkier. What exactly has she done…again?
When SPokane is $10-12 million is shortfalls…what does she do? Hides the cost of 8 million in new building purchases..one being a new building for the police when they’re in more space than they can use ..presently. The guild leaders aren’t the only ones hiding the truth from the public.
Ninch on April 28 at 6:07 a.m.
Pretty sickening that no police officer can be fired unless criminal charges are brought and they are convicted. That is a pretty high bar that allows incompetence and thuggery among Spokane cops. Morals and ethics are trampled and Spokane gets cops with a license to lie.
Another_Perspective on April 28 at 6:20 a.m.
I guess I sort of feel sympathy towards the Ombudsman Tim Burns. As my dad once said, “If you wrestle with the pigs, you will get dirty”.
Perhaps we should make a portable lie detector part of their utility belt. Mandantory to have it in operation prior to Officer opening mouth or writing a report or drawing his Taser.
Albert on April 28 at 8:28 a.m.
The tragedy of the entire matter good friends is the fact that we cannot do a single thing to offset this ongoing problem. We are frustrated with the gestapo and their corruptible union, however what can we, the taxpayers, do? The answer of course is absolutely nothing. How very sad to continually pay hard-earned money in the form of excessive taxation and not have any form of constitutional representation. Think about that for a moment. No constitutional basis for the citizens to demand any form of justice against this corruptible tyranny. Move over King George - you’ve got company.
smarg on April 28 at 8:47 a.m.
Albert, give it time. Within the next 5-10 years the worldwide debt bomb will go off, leading to the economic and shortly thereafter government collapse of every leading country in the West.
We are already seeing the beginning in Europe, as Greece’s welfare state, then Portugal, then Ireland, then Spain fall into the abyss. Here in America, California is basically a failed welfare state that most taxpayers have fled since the 1980s; it will fall soon followed by Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and then, the Federal government. When this happens there will be an opportunity to rebuild from scratch. We have learned from the parasitic portion of our population what doomed us to failure. Of course, it will mean violence when the parasites do not receive their entitlement checks, but that is what we’ll have to do.
God help us all.
lewis8457 on April 28 at 8:49 a.m.
no surprise here, the lies start at the top and run down to the officers.
If the Feds don’t clean house in the SPD we have no chance to turn it around
lewis8457 on April 28 at 9:08 a.m.
what we really need is a strong mayor. they have the power to sign or not sign the guilds contracts.
The city has the power they are just too chicken to use it.
Or Mary just never saw it in the SR so she knows nothing about it. If a person really only knows what is printed in the SR they must be really dumb. SR misses all the really important stories. When i want up to the minute news go to KREM2 on line.
Like all the upcoming election candidates coming to town for a meet and greet several weeks ago, it was never reported in the SR.
PlanB on April 28 at 9:23 a.m.
I am so SHOCKED that the guild would manipulate the vote “results” and threaten its members for violating their own made up policy! It’s so unlike them! On the plus side, they don’t threaten legal action against members who murder, shoot, or harass innocent civilians, so I guess that’s fair. And makes me feel really safe.
Albert and others, agreed that unfortunately our weak-mayor and city council are supposed to be representing us and watching out for our safety, but after 100+ years of corruption apparently they see no need to do anything.
Another_Perspective on April 28 at 9:26 a.m.
The Spokesman (really its reporters) has done a pretty good job staying on top of this.
This article is about the best that Brunt has every done. I hope he keeps it up and he can maybe some day walk in the shadows of Karen Dorn Steel and Bill Morlin. A work in progress I hope.
On the other hand “distort” is pretty much sugar coating the real behavior of LYING, CORRUPTION, LACK OF ETHICS, CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR, LOYALTY, TRUST, and INTEGRITY.. and these are the men and women whom we give the power of life or death over us citizens without any oversight..just an overpaid ombudsman to thinly report that they sorta, kinda do things in a normal fashion.
Sunshine is the best disenfectant. Time to air out the Guild and toss some rats off the boat. There is a whole world of difference in representing the officers in their employment and being a maggot of corruption eating away at an all time low respect of the SPD and our City.
Mayor Verner…just why is a good person, just so ignorant and blind? Just who in the heck is pulling your strings and the wool over your eyes? While Doug Clark would be an OK Mayor, at least he would tell us the truth, which is a lot more than the sludge we are getting from City Hole.
liarsinnews on April 28 at 10:48 a.m.
I have nothing to add to the 10 comments. I agree with every one of them. They are excellent.
empyrius on April 28 at 11:32 a.m.
Parasties?!? Did someone say something about parasites?!? You are referring to Goldman-Sachs, the Rockefellers, Allstate, Prudential, your financial advisor, and, or course, those evil commie unions/guilds, right!
Tis funny that a hundred years ago here in the Pacific NW federal troops and local law enforcement would mercilessly beat down and imprison union members, and now today local law enforcement’s first allegaince is to its evil commie union!
Tis ironic indeed that not only are state employees protected by the state from us their employers, but state and municipal employees, such as the cops, are protected by their evil commie union from the state and us civilians.
Unholy of unholies! Can a brother get a piece of that fascist communism?!?
Ron_the_Cop on April 28 at 11:48 a.m.
Another_Perspective,
I agree with many of your points and I agree with many others too regarding their anger with the Guild. The Guild has shot itself in its foot numerous times. To take a vote of no confidence and expect the vote tally to remain private is a little naive. The Guild’s credibility with the public is in the toilet. I’m sure there are many fine men and women rank and file members who serve honorably in the police department. These people who put their lives on the line each and every day deserve competent and fair leadership from police management and City administration.
As a former police union president this tempest in a teapot over the manner and form of this vote is a distraction from the real issues. The Guild president was wrong if he said the vote represented a vote of a majority of Guild members. I don’t think this is a fair complaint and this article’s headline is misleading. The vote by the command staff is self-serving. OK a number of folks chose not to mark their ballot. The simple fact is that a majority of those who voted, voted no confidence. Do we run regular elections this way? If we did the EMS levy probably wouldn’t have passed.
With that said I believe the Guild does have some valid issues with the police administration as I’ve said all along in other threads on this topic (Just click on my AKA for posts above). With what I’ve read I would have fired Asst. Chief Nicks for his handling of the Zehm media releases and for his lack of meaningful discipline of the detectives that destroyed evidence in the firehouse “rape” case. While this may have been consensual and perhaps a lingering question of a 16 year-old misrepresenting herself as 18, the fact remains once her age was determined these digital photos were child porn.
What many are missing in this most recent debate, is Spokane has a much bigger, deeper, and darker little secret. The issues with the police department are merely symptomatic of a dysfunctional government that is powerless to act because of endemic corruption due to organized crime. Until this issue is squarely addressed, the police department as well as other departments will not function as they should.
I would suggest this anger while righteous in nature could be directed to where real change in our government can take place. I would encourage all who are interested in real change in Spokane to join in this debate. For too long the people of Spokane have been shortchanged. For too long these are topics that have been hushed up. People willing to discuss them in the open have been retaliated against or marginalized by the Cowles Co. or by their minions. These are issues that must be addressed. These issues can’t continue to be swept under the rug. These stories will eventually break.
See award winning investigative reporter Larry Shook’s recent commentary:
American Sherbia
http://larryshook.com/2010/04/17/american-serbia
In a recent S-R article thread on the death of Otto Zehm I posted a “punch list” ( http://tinyurl.com/25pbh7t )of things that Mayor Verner has the authority/power to do immediately or can use her bully pulpit to lobby for that would be helpful.
If this is upsetting to you, you can help by emailing Mayor Verner and the City Council and demanding they take immediate action on a “punch list” Until the citizens of Spokane speak out, they will continue to be victimized by their own government and the criminal enterprise that has so thoroughly corrupted it.
Mayor Verner – mary@spokanecity.org
City Council – CityCouncil@spokanecity.org
Det. Ron Wright (Retired)
Past two-term President of the Riverside Police Officers’ Assn.
Riverside PD, CA
horse_feathers on April 28 at 11:51 a.m.
empyrius, been smoking your own dope again huh.
empyrius on April 28 at 12:59 p.m.
Sadly horse feathers b/c of your state and federal governments’, and their corporate owners, war on our good Lord’s marijuana, I cannot afford to buy any of our Lord’s good green herb.
But come this November us citizens, note this, us CITIZENS of the Evergreen State, shall democratically re-legalize our Lord’s marijuana plant (quite unlike how marijuana was undemocratically criminalized in the first place)!
And if the feds want to send in troops at that time, well, us God-fearing, freedom-loving Washingtonians shall make abundantly clear we mean business when we state, “don’t tread on us”!
And though clad only in our Lord’s righteousness, and armed with naught but our peace pipes, we are doomed to horribly suffer the violent wrath of the state, we can take eternal solace in the fact that our Savior too was crucified by his fellow man, people whom had been misled by their religious leaders, leaders who too ultimately used the state to further their evil agenda . . .
Rise up Christian Soldiers and let us not quietly submit to a centralized government that is no longer responsive to the will of us, the people. “Constitutional republic” be damned! Only the law of our Lord is the true law of the land!
Praise Jesus!
Dazzeetrader11 on April 28 at 6:54 p.m.
Verner knows what’s happened. Lewis, ROn and ALbert are all speaking from a supportable position. Unless and until pkane can trust it’s police to be honest, the whole governemnt looks like a failure…not only checks and balances…just a dismal failure.
I’ve seen big marches on City Hall in other cities…for the same things as depicted by Jonathan…who has turned in a stellar piece of journalism work. I hope there’s follow up in a few months to see what happened. Make no mistake though…Verner hasn’t objected. …nor has she proposed any form of correction. She knows about it but leadership would be nice from the top…thus far…the ship looks rudderless.