Spokane7
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June 11, 2010 in City
Spokane police ombudsman launches website
Spokane’s police ombudsman has a new tool to make it easier for people to file complaints against officers.
The city announced Friday that Ombudsman Tim Burns can now receive complaints online.
A new website includes forms residents can use to make a complaint, ask a question or make a suggestion, city spokeswoman Marlene Feist said in a news release.
The site will also include Burns’ monthly reports to city leaders and his annual report.
“I am working to reach out to Spokane’s citizens in a variety of ways,” Burns said in the release. “The new web site provides another avenue for people to be heard.”
The City Council tabled discussion last month of a resolution designed to give Burns more authority. Currently, he can sit in during internal investigations and decide if those probes are “timely, thorough and objective.”
He does not have the power to discipline officers or conduct his own investigations. Other than his monthly reports, the city has not made any of Burns’ investigation reviews public.
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Ron_the_Cop on June 11 at 3:31 p.m.
The correct web address for the OPO is:
http://www.spdombudsman.org/
addyh on June 11 at 3:32 p.m.
It’s been changed. Thanks.
liarsinnews on June 11 at 3:49 p.m.
Web-site? Facade comes to mind.
spokanecougar on June 11 at 3:55 p.m.
He has no power, cannot do his own investigations, cannot discipline anyone, can only sit in during internal investigations - but not make any recommendations, and he also cannot start any investigation - which pretty much makes this website useless since he cannot do anything with the information being given to him.
Thank you to our useless city council for tabling the measure to give him more power - without that resolution you are once again wasting our tax payer money on a pointless position. Please do the job you were elected to do by the people and vote on this measure, do NOT keep postponing it. Either that or abolish this position and re-direct that salary to something a little more useful.
west on June 11 at 4:15 p.m.
A feel good, warm and fuzzy web site..
ChefGus/ John Olsen on June 11 at 7:44 p.m.
Mr Burns.. given some time and tide will prove to be a great benefit to our Inland Basin… my contacts with him have been uniformly positive… he is insight full and instinctively a problem solver/listener… his chief qualification for this job is his ability to Listen… and he had years as a police officer going as the “Messenger” to homes where it was necessary to tell the family of a death or injury to someone they loved and be present for them… not an easy job at all… but done with equanimity.. john
lewis8457 on June 12 at 8:58 a.m.
so next time you are in a mini mart getting the carp beat out of you, pull out your trusty iphone and get shot twelve times because they thought you had a gun.