Spokane7
49°
July 22, 2010 in City
Police supervisors criticize news media
Recent stories ‘slanted,’ inaccurate, letter says
An association of Spokane police supervisors is speaking out about perceived bias and negative press coverage of Spokane officers.
Released to Spokane media and city officials Wednesday, a letter – written by the Spokane Police Lieutenants and Captains Association to commissioned officers on the force – states that “The time has come to tell the citizens of Spokane in plain language that their police department is a good one.”
“This isn’t us patting ourselves on the back; this is just saying these guys are doing a good job,” said Lt. Joe Walker, vice president of the association.
In light of recent and ongoing news coverage about Spokane police officers and their actions, the 13-member association decided a response was necessary.
The letter references two articles published last month in Spokane newspapers: one June 27 in The Spokesman-Review, written by Bill Morlin, and one June 29 in the Pacific Northwest Inlander, written by Nicholas Deshais.
The association says the two articles – which both questioned and documented the department’s use of force as examples of why city leaders need to expand the investigative powers of police ombudsman Tim Burns – were “replete with inaccuracies, omissions and slanted perspective.”
“As a result, we have come to the realization that allowing such allegations to go unchallenged in the public forum gives the community the impression that they are accurate,” the letter states.
“You do not have truth until you have facts in context,” Chief Anne Kirkpatrick wrote in an e-mail response to the letter while on vacation this week. “I support the unified voice of the leadership of this department.”
The letter was also written as a show of support for patrol officers who put themselves in harm’s way every day, Walker said.
“Reading negative things day in and day out wears on people; we wanted to let them know … we support them,” Walker said.
Police officials, City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi, and Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich are responding to Deshais’ article with a list of inaccuracies that need to be addressed, said Jennifer DeRuwe, police spokeswoman.
However, no inaccuracies were reported to The Spokesman-Review pertaining to its story.
DeRuwe said many on the force believe if they were to call The Spokesman-Review, their concerns would be ignored because of a strained relationship between the department and the paper.
Spokesman-Review Editor Gary Graham said the paper regularly publishes corrections when inaccuracies are made known.
“Any public agency or public information officer surely knows by now that it’s incumbent upon them to help us correct the record when necessary,” Graham said. “To suggest that we simply ignore complaints is absurd.”
Walker said the association is not responsible for correcting inaccurate news coverage: that was not the point of the letter.
“We just got to talking and said, ‘You know, maybe it’s time to write a letter and let everybody know that there’s other factors and things that play into what officers are faced with every day,’ ” Walker said. “There’s a vocal group out there that thinks that we should be robots. But we’re people just like everybody else.”
Couple acquitted of caging 2 boys 
lewis8457 on July 22 at 7:12 a.m.
There is no doubt many of the officers are doing a great job. What the supervisors need to see is the way lawlessness by police officers is dealt with, or more like its swept under the rug.
You guys get your boys and girls to play according to law or suffer the consequences and there wouldn’t be any problems.
The problem as I see it is they want the cake and eat it too. Sadly the door does not swing both ways.
You track record does not look too good.
A innocent is murdered in mini mart by the guy who is the current instructor for arrest procedures.
You had a cop involved in a dui hit and run and he is now sueing the city for 4 mil because he could not get a breathalyzer interlock put on his cop car.
We saw a gay cop scared of his a fellow officers of finding out his secret so he shot a guy in the head and left him for dead.
We had little old day that never did any wrong her life get charged with felony endangerment because she would not drop a hammer.
Dan Torok has murdered several people and he is still; on payroll.
The kids try a demonstration in a park and it turns into police riot. Where several people get hurt by police.
I could go on and on.
Bottom line if you guys want my respect start toeing the line and throw all the bad cops to the lions.
You guys make your own press by the lawlessness attitude your entire department has.
misjustice on July 22 at 8:38 a.m.
Good points, Lewis.
In my opinion, the S-R hasn’t been hard hitting enough with its coverage of the SPD. Other than a few feature length articles on high profile cases, the S-R reporting on police misdeeds seems neutral in tone, not “biased and negative” as the association charges.
If the police don’t want bad press then the good cops need to demand that the bad cops GO! Instead of blaming the press the SPD needs to do some serious house cleaning…
One of the problems for citizens, and the police, is that when we encounter the SPD we have no way of knowing if we are going to interact with a “good” cop or a “bad” cop; that makes us guarded and mistrustful of ALL officers on SPD…
tardwhisperer on July 22 at 9:21 a.m.
A person who does not read a newspaper is informed…those who do are misinformed. Obviously the magic spin dust blown by the local papers has infiltrated your cerebral lungs. “The Inlander” was replete with omitted facts and inaccuracies. The SR, while not always blatantly omitting factual information, are definitely wordsmiths at tainting the truth with several layers of red herring varnish. Journalists like Morlin, Thorn-Steel, and DeShame (yes, for you readers the puns are intended) make their living with inflammatory rhetoric. The truth be damned, especially the truth in its entirety. Look at the recent Sherrod case in the video media…careful editing made her appear racist. That’s the technique of the printed media in Spokane. You uninformed citizens should be directing your outrage at the print media for clouding your perceptions and causing you to believe it is the truth. If you don’t like the police, so be it. Raise your own children, fight your own battles, catch your own wrongdoers, fix your own problems in 10 minutes that took you years to create, control your own chemical dependencies, write your own tickets to to drivers who cut you off or speed or hit you, etc etc etc……..
tardwhisperer on July 22 at 9:26 a.m.
btw…on duty deaths for police nationwide are up 43%…..why dont you do their job….then complain about it……
horse_feathers on July 22 at 9:58 a.m.
Until justice visits the Otto Zehm matter, and I question if it can considering justice delayed is justice denied, I will continue to view the SPD as without honor and integrity.
liarsinnews on July 22 at 11:31 a.m.
I totally agree with you, horse feathers. Throw Mayor Verner into the mix, after all the SPD is under her wing. And while I`m adding my 2 cents worth, may I say, the River Park Square parking garage owners neglected to maintain their garage and the city allowed this to happen and that alone may have caused the death of Ms. Jo Savage. Seems to me the SPD looked the other way and both the Chief and Mayor allowed the garage fatality to go without doing anything about it. Another sad state of affairs is, the fire fighter having sex with a 16 year old at a north side fire station and no charges were filed. Or the federal judge`s sexual behavior in River Front Park that was a disgrace and no charges filed. Clean up your act SPD, and Mayor Verner, and earn respect. Though I believe its too late for the Mayor to mend all the wounds and she should be thrown out of office.
tardwhisperer on July 22 at 12:28 p.m.
Horse feathers…you appropriately named. As well as you, Dick. Please clean the smudges and dust off your rose colored glasses….your view may be askew.
horse_feathers on July 22 at 1:35 p.m.
Turdwhisperer,
The fact that we were lied to by the acting Chief at the time as well as the witness tampering Furguson and Burbridge accomplished are just a few of the blunders that were tossed our way by the SPD. That is some of the crap that wound up on my glasses.
By the way I think you are appropriately named too.
lewis8457 on July 22 at 4:16 p.m.
tardwhisper it will get to the point where people won’t call the cops justice will just be served in a back alley some where.
Why do I have to do their jobs? That is the first thing you cops throw out. I didn’t want to be a cop that is why you are being paid because you wanted to be one.
Honestly if I wouldn’t have to worry about you cops busting down my door I would have my home very well armored.
If you want my respect just do your job to the best of your ability and follow the LAWS!!!!
Then we wont have a problem, is how easy that was.
I also agree that SR is very restricted in their reporting about the cops, I think Doug Clark is the only one really getting some good shots in lately. Go Doug!
bszottlinger on July 22 at 5:24 p.m.
A little introspection please.
When it comes to law enforcement opinions, this community is not unlike every other. There are Lovers, Haters, Kooks, Characters, and Crooks as well as a mass in the middle. Near none are fully informed or have a basis for knowledge and understanding. As difficult and frustrating it may be just go out and do your job to the very best of your abilities and hope that the gift you have been given allows you to touch far more people in a positive way rather than a negative way.
Bad times come and go at the blink of an eye. This will pass. Let the Lovers, Haters, Kooks, Characters, Crooks, and those in the middle who have nothing better to do duel it out here while you do those things that keep us safe. Just please do it the best way you know how.
Brad Szottlinger
liarsinnews on July 22 at 8:20 p.m.
This community is unlike every other? Brad, Brad. Think about what you are saying. Talk about foolishness. You know what is said regarding statements like yours painting every city with the same brush. Moronic logic.
misjustice on July 22 at 9:17 p.m.
@ turdwhisperer; are you really Mr. I Have a Secret, Jay Olsen?
rpmarp on July 22 at 9:24 p.m.
Clean the glasses again, dick. Brad said “is not unlike” — big difference. I wish all you folks that bitch about the police, their Chief, and the mayor would pack your bags and head out of town in search of your utopia. By the way, it doesn’t exist.
PlanB on July 22 at 9:59 p.m.
Disrespect and on-duty deaths are a direct result of a lack of integrity in the current (hell, all of Spokane history) state of law enforcement. The SPD and most law enforcement agencies are not effective because of this lack of integrity, and their outright hostility and contempt towards those that they are serving.
News flash to law enforcement: You work for the citizens not your union.
That’s why the Zehm case is so important. Thanks to technology we know what really happened. But still the SPD and our elected officials (mayor and prosecutor) continue lying or sticking their heads in a hole.
In this case the SR is being way too kind.
Ron_the_Cop on July 22 at 10:26 p.m.
Sorry Ryan a repeat from Sirens & Gavels on this topic:
Well they could do something to improve the image held by the public. The actions of Asst. Chief Nicks in the Zehm case re the video and sanctioning of only one day off for the dets that in essence condoned the destruction of evidence (the photos that were child porn) in the firehouse sex case is unacceptable. The police statements now changing in light of testifying under oath in front of a federal grand jury are not trust building either. Especially since the IA Unit signed off on the Zehm death without finding any potential wrongdoing for poor police procedure/tactics.
I’m in agreement with the Guild re certain procedural issues that they have with Chief Kirkpatrick but the manner in which they did the vote of no confidence was spun against them and their legitimate complaints were lost in the noise.
Why do you suppose Chief Kirkpatrick continues to get good press? The vote of confidence in Chief Kirkpatrick by police management was self serving and is to be expected.
bszottlinger on July 23 at 9:47 a.m.
The point I was trying to make was directed toward the police officers and their friends who occasionally post here. I was also in essence questioning the tactic of a media release that attempts to extol the department’s virtues and deflect blame at a time when they are under such scrutiny. The media release and an officer posting here only exacerbates the police department’s situation. It’s a lose/lose tactic and is subject to the type of criticism it has elicited.
The job that police officers have chosen is for the most part a thankless one and they must realize that the thanks are going to be few and far between. Blame for the current situation the police department finds itself in can and will be directed both within the department and outside the department. The citizens of this community must also share in some of the blame. The problems and criticisms the department faces today will pass. However, the only way they will pass in a positive direction is when each and every officer from the top on down does some introspective reflection and understands that police business is people business preformed by people. There will always be mistakes, there will always be criticisms, there will always be bad cops mixed with good cops, and there will always be lovers, haters, and those in the middle.
Instead of circling the wagons, deflecting blame, and becoming frustrated with the criticism, go to work put on the uniform and do the best damn job you know how.
Brad Szottlinger