Spokane7
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October 22, 2010 in City
Police divvy drugs to catch dealers
Judge says giving portion of sale to unwitting aide is valid investigative practice
Two men looking for drugs found help quickly on East Sprague Avenue in Spokane last April. A drug user eager for his next high took them to a west Spokane parking lot, where he handed them a rock of crack cocaine he’d bought from a dealer in a nearby car.
The men gave their assistant a small portion of the drug and drove back to Sprague, but they didn’t join him in getting high.
Instead, the remaining crack cocaine was secured at the Spokane police evidence room and the man suspected of selling it was charged with a felony.
The investigation was detailed in a court hearing Thursday that provided a rare look at the Spokane Police Department’s undercover drug unit, where confidential informants are used daily and some drug users have no idea they’re actually helping police.
Sometimes, keeping that cover requires giving unsuspecting participants drugs.
“There’s a lot of deceit going on through all of this, because that’s the way the drug dealers are caught,” said Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor, who rejected an attempt by defense attorney Doug Phelps to dismiss a felony drug charge because of “outrageous government conduct.” Phelps said the removal of a portion of the drugs could mean there isn’t enough evidence for lab tests, but Deputy Prosecutor Eugene Cruz said that isn’t true.
O’Connor said police providing a portion of the drugs to participants who don’t realize they’re part of an undercover investigation isn’t outrageous – it’s part of the war on drugs.
“This is in my view a legitimate way, as long as it is completely documented, to deal with a particular investigation,” O’Connor said. “It’s not common, but it is done periodically.”
Phelps, a former law enforcement officer in the Midwest and a lawyer for 17 years, said he’d never heard of police providing citizens with drugs free of consequence until he read a report from Spokane police Detective Michael Bahr detailing the case against Anthony D. Koss.
“They hadn’t even tested the drug at the time they were giving it away to know what it was,” Phelps said. “They’re busting people for crack cocaine because they want it off the streets, but then they’re putting it back out there.”
Koss, 27, is in jail on $25,000 bail, charged with felony delivery of crack cocaine stemming from the April transaction with what police call an “unwitting” – someone contacted in an undercover investigation who doesn’t realize he’s working with police.
Police department rules prohibit drug payments to confidential informants, who undergo screening before working with detectives. But drug payments to other people, such as the man who police say bought crack from Koss in April, is allowed, police supervisors testified Thursday.
“We have very few shalls and shall nots,” said Spokane police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick. “We want officers to be able to exercise their discretion in this line of work.”
Bahr was working undercover in the East Sprague area on April 20 when he and a confidential informant approached a man about buying crack cocaine and said they’d give him a piece if he helped. Bahr told the man he was from out of town.
The man led them to a parking lot at North Ash Street and West Indiana Avenue, where Bahr watched as the man bought crack cocaine from Koss and Lavonda M. Rios, Bahr testified Thursday. Rios, 24, also is charged with distribution of crack cocaine.
Before dropping the man back off in the East Sprague area, Bahr gave him about one-tenth of the crack cocaine, he testified.
“Generally, they’re only out there with the sole purpose of actually obtaining drugs themselves,” Bahr said of unwitting participants. “They’re basically paid with drugs because that’s what they’re after.”
Drug unit Detective Kevin Langford said payments to middlemen probably occur in “between 2 to 5 percent of our cases.”
“I’d say it occurs once every two weeks,” Langford said.
He said crack cocaine is given out most often; he doesn’t know of heroin, which he said is more harmful, ever being distributed in cases in which he’s involved.
Sgt. Joel Fertakis called the practice “a valid investigative tool that is, unfortunately, occasionally necessary to protect officer confidentiality (and) officer safety.”
Human trafficking suspects released 
Sadbuttrue on October 22 at 6:26 a.m.
I forget …. Could someone remind me of what good is going on here? Police as the drug dealers. Only they are the “good guys,” right? As opposed to the “bad guys,” i.e. “civilians” who are in competition with them.
Nice.
D Statler on October 22 at 6:31 a.m.
NOW WE HAVE COPS GIVING CRACK COCAINE AWAY ! There is not much difference between the scumbags being arrested and the scumbags doing the arresting anymore.It never seems to amaze me what I will read about next coming from the SPOKANE POLICE DEPARTMENT and PROSECUTORS office. Were suppose to be taking it off the streets.How many hours did these dirty detectives spend to give the drugs away? Why wasn’t the assistant arrested also? Now its time for the prosecutors office to make their deals and let the girlfriend off for her testimony against her boyfriend.NET one arrest for $50 worth of drugs @ three detectives @ 15 hours & one prosecutor @ 40 hours & $5,000 to house one inmate till the slow motion legal system lets him out with a handslap. Seems like we could be using our taxpayer resources better. :^(
Sadbuttrue on October 22 at 7:02 a.m.
One of the best arguments that ultimately stopped alcohol prohibition is that the law hopelessly corrupted the cops.
Drug prohibition is even crazier. Nobody would have dreamed during alcohol prohibition that cops would so routinely perjure themselves in court, like they routinely are permitted to do nowadays. Cops back then had SOME moral lines they wouldn’t cross. Now all bets are off. Lying under oath, cops employed as drug dealers, cops using deadly military tactics against civilians, acting like a hostile enemy occupation force.
Lying, drug-dealing, murderous goons. Dear Lord.
During alcohol prohibition cops at least tried to feebly live up to “protect and serve.” Now cop cars, fittingly and accurately, declare “KEEP AWAY.”
Yeah. I feel safer.
misjustice on October 22 at 7:45 a.m.
The cops are dope dealers? Geez!
eagleproducer on October 22 at 7:47 a.m.
I like Kirkpatrick’s “shall and shall not” statement. I saw her coming out of Riverpark Square (Disclaimer: Riverpark Square is owned by the owners of this newspaper) the other day and that “shall and shall not” rationale should have applied to her wardrobe choice.
Stick with the black BDU’s, Chief. The next time purple and crimson don’t clash will be the first.
400,000 people will die of tobacco related illnesses this year. That’s more people than have died using “illegal” drugs in THE LAST 100 YEARS!
http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30
The cops should be out FRAMING smokers and fat people. Their behavior clearly has a much higher social cost. Junkies are going to be junkies and spending trillions of our dollars won’t change that.
Oconnell: Quit beating the drums of War on Drugs. It’s time to get smart on crime, not tough on crime.
lewis8457 on October 22 at 8:29 a.m.
SPD has been in the drug trade for years. They don’t have to take drug tests so what is stopping them from taking a little puff?
It has nothing to do with how much money they spend it has all to do with them looking tough and in control.
When i see a story like this i just think go ahead and spend it guys because all of you will be laid off when the money runs out. And then we might get to rebuild our police to protect and serve instead of kill and cover up.
bszottlinger on October 22 at 8:32 a.m.
“We have very few shalls and shall nots,” said Spokane police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick. “We want officers to be able to exercise their discretion in this line of work.”
A most telling comment!
I seriously doubt that there is a Police Administrator any where in the United States that will not admit that the units most susceptible to corruption are Vice and Narcotics Units and it is therefore necessary to have strict guidelines, policy and procedures, as well as strict supervision in place to effectively control and monitor the conduct of officers assigned to the units. As a matter of fact, I am well aware that courses in developing and maintaining integrity and standards of conduct in these units is covered in various classes for police administrators at the FBI Academy. When drug units “have very few shalls and shall nots” it opens the door for assigned officers to become involved in illegal activities, including actually using drugs themselves along with the people they become involved with during their investigations. I don’t know if it has ever been the case in Spokane, but in several jurisdictions undercover officers have become addicted to drugs as a result of their work as undercover drug officers. When the addiction came to light they sought and received medical retirement from the departments they were working for. The issue of corruption in these units is documented over and over again. Time and time again when the examples I have mentioned happen the critical review always details a lack of strict policy, procedure, and standards established by the organization.
Certainly discretion is important in police work, however when it comes to areas so susceptible to corruption, addiction, and liability to have “very few shalls and shall nots” is absolutely absurd.
I am curious as to whether anyone blogging here is aware of any incidents similar to what I have mentioned above taking place in Spokane.
Brad Szottlinger
spokanada on October 22 at 9:31 a.m.
Un-effing-believable. The SPD absolutely embarasses me and this city. Giving away free crack? How many officers did it take to bust this dealer?
And cops can’t take drug tests as it is written in their contract. Why is that? How does that benefit the community by having the people busting people for drugs not being tested for personal use of those drugs?
liarsinnews on October 22 at 9:46 a.m.
I guess Chief Anne Kirkpatrick decided to take a day off from looking for another job and make a statement about the men in blue rather than have the usual lady Officer Jennifer LeReuw do it. Jennifer, should be out on a beat trying to catch the people she is always talking about rather than in front of a mirror fixing her hair etc so she looks just right for the TV cameras.
bszottlinger on October 22 at 10:25 a.m.
I would sure be interested to know if this is common practice in other jurisdictions for dealing with street level drug dealers, and that is exactly what this is, “street level” drug dealers.
I also wonder how this would shake out at the appellate level regarding outrageous police conduct.
spokanecougar on October 22 at 10:36 a.m.
The war on drugs. Are you kidding me Spokane law enforcement officials? What a total and monumental waste of our tax money. Love how this city and police and sheriffs complains and cry like little babies to us citizens about how little money they have, but then they keep wasting it on this losing effort on the “war on drugs.” These people need help, not jail. Jail has proven to be a great place to network for drug dealers and find new clients. In effect our tax payer money is actually helping the drug dealers expand there client base, not shrink it. Nice.
Sadbuttrue on October 22 at 11:03 a.m.
Laying off 83 cops with this kind of crap going on isn’t near enough. When budget cuts occur, the first things cut are property crimes. The Cops-training-as-drug-dealers remains uncut. Somehow, after all of the above, Cops argue that they are willing to take a bullet for us, and therefore should be cut last.
Counties and municipalities that have recently undergone draconian budget cuts with their drug police have noticed no increase in real crime.
This story is “Exhibit A” on where the police budget cuts should occur.
bdr on October 22 at 11:55 a.m.
At least their not shooting them……this is a huge improvement in criminal investigations. In the last few months cops shoot first and ask questions from a dead body.
whats a lil crack….going to do? at least their alive.
mikewsu on October 22 at 11:58 a.m.
So on one day Spokane’s finest are handing out CRACK COCAINE on East Sprague and the next day are shaking down legitimate medicinal marijuana dispensaries?
Sounds like organized crime to me.
Nice clear message SPD. Tax dollars well spent.
Scoutster on October 22 at 12:58 p.m.
It certainly does sound like we have a gang problem in this town.
Ed Byrnes on October 22 at 1:13 p.m.
It is exactly this kind of behavior on the part of local law enforcement members, and their vacuous justifications, that sustains the perception that our law enforcement officers and deputies believe that they are above the law. This is tragic because an abiding trust between citizens and local law enforcement is essential for a functional law enforcement system.
As I have said many times before the blue wall of silence within which unprofessional officers are protected is actually smothering the highly professional officers because us citizens can no longer discern who is trustworthy or not among local law enforcement. Any reasonable person would know from ongoing evidence that not all local law enforcement personnel are trustworthy.
Incidentally, distributing crack cocaine in any amount for no remuneration is a crime. Our local judiciary apparently and consistently will not hold members of law enforcement to the same standards as us civilians: Does anyone recall the Brad Thoma DUI case? With the judiciary in collusion with the least professional members of our law enforcement agencies, placing the SPD into federal receivership doesn’t seem to be as exaggerated of a response as it used to.
As for the war on drugs: I have had an associate police chief in a large western U.S. jurisdiction and a long time colleague who is a captain in a very large eastern U.S. jurisdiction, in the context of working with them on enhancing community oriented policing efforts, tell me the identical thing: Their agency’s largest corruption problems come from their narcotics and vice units, and that these corrupt units are inhibiting the effectiveness of community oriented policing and community based prosecution efforts. It stands to reason that lying, cheating and breaking laws does not engender citizens’ trust.
When working in community corrections I learned first hand that the drug war was actually preventing offender rehabilitation. I discovered that Dade County, Florida and Multnomah County, Oregon were using an alternative approach which were among our earliest drug courts. We now have two decades of data which consistently support that treatment rather than standard law enforcement and corrections approaches results in safer communities. Street level substance abuse is a public health rather than law enforcement problem.
The voters of California may very well strike the first serious blow to our failed war on drugs through Proposition 19. Interested people can contact the Womens Marijuana Movement, Just Say Now or Students for Sensible Drug Policy to help the citizens of California restore some modicum of sanity to our drug policies.
Sadbuttrue on October 22 at 2:40 p.m.
This is an example of what I argue is the Bubble in Policing: Too many cops chasing too little crime. When there isn’t any crime to chase, then the cops commit some themselves. The dramatic ramping up in police numbers in the last 20 or 30 years, with the consequent drastic expansion of the prison/industrial complex is simply financially unsustainable. Policing is the last profession to experience the blunt trauma of the financial crash. Ever increasing property taxes are the basis of their ever increasing wages and numbers hired, and property has drastically declined in value.
I would predict that the recently fired 83 employees of the Spokane Police Department will result in no increase in real crime. Their passing will simply be unnoticed, aside from emptying out overstuffed jails full of people who should have never been arrested in the first place. This recent incident indicates that the police are frantically scrambling to worthlessly arrest even more people to keep their quotas up to justify their own existence. Most of what the police do nowadays does not benefit public safety. Given the economic depression, it is obvious that several hundred more members of the Spokane Police Department need to be given the boot.
D Statler on October 22 at 10:31 p.m.
There must be a federal mandate on this behavior.Selling,dealing,giving drugs is illegal.No matter who you are, or represent.I would beg the US Marshals to step in and arrest these corrupt police officers. I can only guess that they don’t care what is going on in our city.So much has passed with no action from big brother. What will it take to awaken the sleeping giant at the Federal courthouse ?
How much do these drug / gang prosecutors make? This guys name keeps coming up over and over.He seems to be driving very exspensive automobiles. I also find it interesting how millions of dollars of confiscated drug money had come up missing in the past. It was buried by the police department and the Spokesman Review.One article ( 2/12/2009, Spokane Police deposit millions into “unauthorized fund”)and out of the public eye for good.
Common big brother, WAKE UP and help us!
Scoutster on October 22 at 10:51 p.m.
Hey…
Where’s gramma? Where’s cpd? C’mon, you guys, explain it for those of us who have no idea what the police face every day.
DVSPrincess on March 04 at 5:00 p.m.
Are you freakin kidding me? I find it totally hypocritical that the SPD is committing the same crime they are arresting people for. It’s totally appalling how they can conductuct investigations in this way and make the charges stick on the people they are arresting. Conducting investigations in this manner is completely unethical.
The officers are no better than the people that are selling the drugs but because they have a gun, badge and are “Officers of the law” (and I use that term VERY loosely!) they are not held to the same laws that they are enforcing? I personally think setting up an officer or CI to conduct a drug purchase, or to solicit a prostitute is complete entrapment and I believe it’s a violation of a persons civil rights. Is it any wonder the community has no faith, trust or respect for law enforcement anymore?
When you conduct investigations in this manner in my eyes you are no more than a criminal yourself, the only difference is you won’t get arrested or sent to jail for the crimes you are committing and regardless of how wrong your policies and practices are you will find a way to bend the situation to your advantage because it’s not a “crime” if you are SPD.
With all the recent police involved shootings, and reading this article I have completely lost respect, faith and trust in Spokane’s so called Law Enforcement and I would much rather deal with having a city with no law enforcement than a city with corrupt, unethical officers running amok committing crimes and not being held accountable for their actions because they are SPD. How can you expect citizens of Spokane to obey the laws when the people being paid to enforce the laws don’t obey them?
Here’s a tip on how to cut crime in Spokane in half…. It’s very simple… hold law enforcement accountable for breaking the laws they are paid with OUR tax money to enforce… if Law Enforcement abides by the laws that will reduce the amount of crime by half.
I can honestly say I am utterly disgusted with SPD and I am sure many others are as well… it’s only a matter of time before someone finds a LEGAL way to put SPD in check and hold them accountable for obeying the laws. I (and I’m sure I’m not the only one) was thrilled when I heard there was going to be budget cuts which would lay off a percentage of SPD, but the officers that are actually doing their job without breaking the laws are problaby the ones that got laid off leaving Spokane up a creek with the corrupt officers still employed.