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January 27, 2011 in City
Sheriff critical; S-R stands behind story
Knezovich confirms bomb contained chemical, objects to rat poison reference
Knezovich
(Full-size photo)
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich confirmed Wednesday for the second time in two days that chemicals were mixed with shrapnel in a bomb that was placed along the Unity March route in downtown Spokane on Jan. 17.
The sheriff has criticized a front-page story published in the Wednesday edition of The Spokesman-Review, but stopped short of seeking a correction.
Knezovich told newspaper editors Wednesday that he did not confirm that the chemical – being analyzed by the FBI – may be a compound commonly found in rat poison.
On Tuesday night, reporter Thomas Clouse asked Knezovich if rat poison was the chemical used in the bomb. The sheriff replied: “There was some discussion early on on that, but I’m not sure that that actually played out.”
In the meeting with editors including Editor Gary Graham, Knezovich said he also told the reporter Tuesday night: “This sheriff does not know what’s inside that. This sheriff told your reporter just that: Tom, be very careful about this story. If you want to run it, you need to run it with a big ‘if.’
“I don’t know how many times I stressed that: ‘If.’ If that were the case. I said we don’t know what kind of chemical is in there. We don’t know. We don’t know if it’s dangerous. We don’t know what it is.”
The story Wednesday quoted Knezovich as saying, “I know the bomb had some kind of chemical material inside, but we are still trying to figure out what kind. All we know there is a substance.”
It continued, “Knezovich said early talks indicated the chemical could have been a compound used in common rat poison.”
Graham said the newspaper stands behind its story.
“Our story made it abundantly clear that tests are being conducted to determine the type of chemical used,” Graham said.
“The story we published Wednesday accurately quoted the sheriff as saying the bomb had some kind of chemical material inside. In our two discussions with the sheriff on Wednesday, he agreed that we quoted him accurately on that point.
“The real issue is the facts themselves, and we remain confident that we had the story right. One of our reporter’s confidential law enforcement sources said Wednesday that indeed the story was correct.”
Parishes giving $1.5 million toward settling sex cases 
misjustice on January 27 at 6:06 a.m.
A little cheese with that whine, Ozzie?
lewis8457 on January 27 at 7:33 a.m.
poor Ozzie cant get us all to focus on something other then the mighty bomb. That was originally placed behind a trash can. But when a public worker moved it to a bench it as now in the path of the march?
So they are asking if anyone saw someone by the bench? But no mention of the trash can, so do they really want to find the guy? Or is this a ruce to get our attention on something other then the current issue of cops murdering tax payers??
where is Kirkpatrick? The bomb was found in the city so what does Ozzie have to do with it anyway.
Orange on January 27 at 8:09 a.m.
Lewis, off topic but I’m not sure your wording is correct. Murder is prettty strong and doesn’t have anything to do with this story. I don’t remember reading anything about a murder other than some short little Deputy killing his wife a few years ago.
Obviously this newspaper mis-quoted the Sheriff. And he’s simply setting the record straight.
BitofBacon on January 27 at 8:32 a.m.
Of course, the Park Ranger Sheriff (have you seen the latest uniforms?) could have avoided this by keeping his trap shut. Ozzie, just because the press asks you doesn’t mean you have to answer! If you could just remember this simple bit of advice. Don’t surrender to the action imperative.
Droid on January 27 at 8:48 a.m.
I’m pretty sure I posted about the very idea - not that the “bomb” was planted by anyone - but that the big blow up of finding a backpack with wires coming out of it - helped to draw the attention away from a very potent issue: The 7th (I believe) police shooting since last July.
But I don’t know anything about rat poison and what exactly IT does in the genetic makeup of a “bomb”.
Anyone?
IRun on January 27 at 9:05 a.m.
@Droid… As previously stated in related Spokesman-Review articles (the ones that caused this current flap) briefly described why rat poison is sometimes put into bombs. In brief, rat poison acts as an anti-coagulant. It prevents your body from being able to seal a wound and stop bleeding. The intention then by mixing in rat poison is that in case the initial blast didn’t kill you, you will slowly bleed out and die. This technique has become common in Iraq and Palestine. http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79892&page=1
@Lewis… There are a ton of news stories that are stating that the bomb was placed next to a trash can. Whether it was moved or not it doesn’t matter. The location of the bomb was along the march route and placed in a very particular spot to maximize damage. You and a few other posters are alluding to that the city workers who found the bomb are the ones placed it. Get over the consipiracy theories. Just to show how insane that opinion is, why would they place it there and then call it in? Also, if you are looking inside of something don’t you typically move it to get a better view of whats inside?
SpokyDaBear on January 27 at 9:10 a.m.
The Cowles family is scared of the local sheriff.
IRun on January 27 at 9:11 a.m.
@Lewis… in case you need more clarification here is a photo that was released by the FBI of the bomb on the bench next to the trash can (seen in the right hand side of the photo). The trash can is no more than a foot away from the bench. So, that extra foot has now caused it be in the path of the march versus not being?? http://www.krem.com/home/FBI-agents-confirm-suspicious-backpack-contained-explosives—114152319.html?gallery=y&c=y&img=1#gallery-image
SpokyDaBear on January 27 at 9:47 a.m.
IRun… looks like the Mad Bomber decided he really, really wanted his bomb to be discovered. But then again, if the bomb was planted by the FBI how would it be discovered if the FBI put it in the garbage can sitting one foot away?
I am truly not convinced about this Mad Bomber on the loose theory. Something smells really fishy here and it has the hands of the FBI all over it.
(Special note to FBI, in the future, don’t use Swiss Army backpacks for your bombs. Spokane doesn’t sell them. Next time, pick a backpack from Walmart.)
bszottlinger on January 27 at 10:59 a.m.
Perhaps not as “astute” but some of us might know more then you give us credit for. :)
greenlibertarian on January 27 at 12:19 p.m.
“(Special note to FBI, in the future, don’t use Swiss Army backpacks for your bombs. Spokane doesn’t sell them. Next time, pick a backpack from Walmart.)”
Smokeydabear
Swiss Army brand backpacks are popular and sold in stores all over Spokane, including Walmart.
You might want to have your reality checked.
zelda on January 27 at 2:59 p.m.
CNN now has more on the story, this time quoting Tony Stewart concerning racist activities in the area that coincided with the bombing attempt at the Spokane MLK parade —
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/27/washington.mlk.parade.bomb/index.html?hpt=T2
Ron_the_Cop on January 27 at 4:14 p.m.
For the record Tom Clouse did not get the story straight in the Creach case re Dep. Hirzel being allowed to go on vacation. Ozzie was tabbed with this decision but it appears since Ozzie was actually out of town, this decision was made lower down the food chain. Clouse may have not gotten the story straight because of something that was said by SCSO PIO Sgt. Reagan.
Ron_the_Cop on January 27 at 4:23 p.m.
Look the Sheriff and I have not been on the best of terms of late but Clouse sometimes may not get his facts straight. See this email exchange re a previous misunderstanding [Note there was an obscure correction later]
Mr. Clouse,
I sent this email last week re the correction box that ran with your print article suggesting that the box be linked to the online version of your article. I can’t find this correction on the S-R’s web page.
As you can see Sheriff Knezovich is taking issue with this article and the correction that was run. I’m forwarding it to you for your information. Sheriff Knezovich didn’t request this to remain private so I’m assuming it sent it in the open. You can check with him.
Here’s an excerpt of the Sheriff email to me:
“Never said this, nor did I inferred it, nor did I ever consider it when I found out about the decision to let him go on vacation, nor did I say I approved the vacation: “Knezovich said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference that he approved Hirzel’s vacation partly because the county would have been on the hook to pay for travel costs had Hirzel and his wife canceled.”.
Reporter admitted that he filled in the lines when he asked me a simple yes or no question about contract language. A little much of that going on in this case. It’s a shame the retractions never make it front page above the fold. Now Justice4all claims a (LIE). Maybe he/she should have listened to the news conference and then asked the reporter why the Sheriff was misquoted. Even better perhaps they should have spoken to the me about the issue. I do have a phone and email. I guess it is easier to spread a falsehood than verify the facts behind their claim of a (LIE). To do so is nearly as bad as a lie itself.
For the record I arrived in Philadelphia late the night of Aug 25th, advised of the shooting the morning of Aug 26th, spent Aug 26th on a plane back to Spokane, briefed on incident on Aug 27th, advised of vacation then, advised that investigators where going to try to conduct the interview between the two legs of the vacation over the weekend of the 28th, found out that the interview had not taken place on Aug 30th, press ran with incomplete facts on Sept 1st, reporter misrepresented my statements Sept 2nd, Sept 7 press started correcting misrepresented facts concerning the vacation issue.”
Ron_the_Cop on January 27 at 4:27 p.m.
And while were on the topic here’s another one. I’ve got one more. Is there a pattern here?
Read this discussion thread in this S-R article link:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/sep/08/sheriff-regrets-way-vacation-decision-was-made/?comments#c189904
Ron_the_Cop on September 09 at 1:44 p.m.
Justice4all,
Here’s a comment I made in this article thread. This was a sidebar to an article written by Clouse about the time of this post that appeared in the print version. I can’t find it in any of the web versions. Perhaps the WebTeam could link in the web version to this correction box to the article where it appeared in the print version:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010…
Also see the correction box re the comment reimbursement issue of the plane ticket was attributed to Sheriff Knezovich which in fact it was a comment made by Sgt. Reagan. Sheriff Knezovich said this was not a factor in his decision to allow the officer to leave on vacation.
Ron_the_Cop on January 27 at 4:42 p.m.
OK and here’s another one where Clouse was slow on the draw. Of course we all know what the outcome of the election for County Prosecutor was:
Mr. Clouse,
It was your latest article on the Tucker/Malone race you said both Republican challengers to Tucker, Stevens and Bugbee who were eliminated in the primary, were supporting Tucker.
As you know from my previous email I have an email from Stevens saying he’s not supporting Tucker. In fact if you check his FacePage he at least states that he voted for Malone. Of course he could have been hacked:
David Stevens Just filled out my ballot and voted for Frank. Voting for a “D” never felt so good.
If I recall correctly there was a previous story re Stevens’ “supporting” Tucker not by you that was incorrect that I called to the attention of the S-R.
I have yet to see a follow up and/or correction to your story. Look this stands to be a very close race. The two Republican challengers in this race along with Reierson split the vote. Look those voting for these others were a NO vote on Tucker. Those who voted for Bugbee or Stevens will be the deciding factor in the general election.
If in fact Stevens has voted for Malone this would be very important to your readers/voters in their decision in whom to vote for.
Look this is all about fairness and informing your readers in a timely manner of something of significance/importance. The ballots are now out and people are voting. Your inaction can potentially skew this election
Will the S-R report?
Ron Wright
Here’s and email to City Editor Addy Hatch from Larry Shook that cause the S-R to run a small piece:
Ms. Hatch:
You have been provided evidence that your newspaper made a reporting error concerning an endorsement of Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker. As you know, this is a serious matter, because Mr. Tucker has been accused of covering up a crime involving your employers. (Please see “America’s Most Dangerous Cop” at www.larryshook.com and “Deathtrap” at www.girlfromhotsprings.com.)
The professional thing for you to do is take action in order to determine whether a correction is in order. I’m afraid I don’t understand your indifference to this concern. Your lack of due diligence in this matter could be construed as adding weight to the concern of both retired Det. Ron Wright and former Sheriff Tony Bamonte that The Spokesman-Review serves as an instrument of Cowles family criminal activities.
Let me note that if you, or any of your colleagues, document that any of my reporting is in error I will take prompt action to correct the mistake and thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Sincerely, Larry Shook
*****
As I just quipped in another thread Tucker is not earning his money:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jan/25/use-of-force-case-leaves-questions/?comments#c251551
Good points BSZ:-)
The media does have a role to play to inform/educate the people on significant issues of the day so that they can hold their elected/appointed officials accountable if they CHOOSE.
This is where I fault the S-R for not holding a fire to Tucker’s feet and prevent him from dropping his egg and quickly retreating to his rabbit hole.
This man earns $140K per year and in my opinion he does little to earn it. He more than anyone else in the LE community could hold LE accountable for their mistakes and mediocre work product that in the end cost us taxpayers more money in the end.
addyh on January 27 at 5:46 p.m.
For the record, Ron, neither the reporter nor the paper admitted we “filled in the lines,” as the sheriff alleges in his e-mail to you.
The sheriff’s official spokesman told us that cost was one of the reasons the deputy was allowed to go on vacation after the Creach shooting. Our story attributed that to the sheriff rather than this spokesman, which we clarified once it was brought to our attention.
Addy Hatch, city editor
bszottlinger on January 27 at 6:38 p.m.
I would be willing to bet that the local Bureau and their bosses are really mad right now, and that may have had something to do with all this hoopla.
Ron_the_Cop on January 27 at 6:52 p.m.
Thank you Ms. Hatch.
I see Sgt. Reagan is no longer the PIO anymore after this bit and the crack about the Creach family in this for the money.
zelda on January 27 at 7:45 p.m.
Ozzie K. is discovering that you can’t unring the bell. Officials constantly caution people from engaging in speculation and yet that’s exactly what he did. Despite the number of “ifs” he used, I think Clouse’s antennae went up because Knezovich doth protest too much.
bszottlinger on January 27 at 8:14 p.m.
I am always willing to point out when someone does something right even though they have done things wrong in the past.
This is the only appropriate response from a local official to the media in the story Mr. Clouse wrote on 1/26/ 11.
“She declined to discuss the chemical found in the bomb.”
Good Job Chief Kirkpatrick !!!!
bszottlinger on January 28 at 12:00 p.m.
NO-BS:
I’m not all that “astute” but wouldn’t you agree that the appropriate response to inquiries from the media regarding the bomb would be “I decline to discuss anything regarding how the bomb was made”? Especially in light of the fact that in an earlier story by Mr. Clouse the SAC is quoted as saying that the Bureau will not discuss how the bomb was made and went on to explain why including the issue of false confessions.
So who is to blame, is it Mr. Clouse for digging into the story and trying to get someone he had a pretty good idea would make a comment to do just exactly that, or is it the Sheriff for making any kind of a comment regarding the how the bomb was or may have been made contrary to the wishes of the Bureau?
Ron_the_Cop on January 28 at 12:12 p.m.
Zelda, NO-BS and BSZ,
This was a gotcha thing with Ozzie. Clouse had a confidential LE source that apparently told him this and other details. I would be critical of the LE source for doing so. Clouse needed to corroborate this with another source. Ozzie came along. Ozzie being the good natured person as he sometimes is, offered a comment and then got stung in Clouse penchant for making a point re the rat poison. OK Clouse you won this round. What was the purpose of this other than needling Ozzie? And check out the very flattering photo of Ozzie. Gee there are plenty of issues that the media should be on Chief Kirkpatrick like stink on poop. So S-R why does Kirkpatrick get such a wide birth?
The FBI is always mums the word which sometimes is a double edged sword. You need the media and the public to develop leads/info. If your lip is always zipped this can be problematic. You need the eyes and ears of the public. This has been the fault of the paradigm of Homeland Security from the very beginning by not effectively using the public. Don’t get me started on the waste and abuse of the TSA.
OK from published reports with NO INSIDE knowledge, I would offer this was a relatively sophisticated device, remote trigger, with shrapnel and looks like a viscous powder from the photo. I would suspect ANFO (fertilizer fuel oil and readily available in our farming area) or perhaps TATP as the explosive with a detonator. The recipes and instructions are readily available on the Internet. However to work it does take some practical experience/testing. Besides TATP is very unstable and the likelihood of blowing yourself up like the puppet Achmed the Terrorist is prematurely is considerable:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go
TATP is one of the substances used in Jihadi suicide belts/packs. AND NO I’m not making any linkages to anything with Islam here.
So if the bomb maker is local I would expect some experimenting/testing done in the recent past. Someone may have seen or heard something. If ANFO this is a small quantity so the purchase of the raw materials may have gone unnoticed but if the maker is not a farmer something may have stood out in the sale by a merchant/vendor. I would want to make this public to develop the source of the material. Someone actually may have seen something but doesn’t realize the significance yet.
If the bomb maker and placer are one in the same and is not local all bets are off. The question is what brought them here?
Just some musing to further this discussions that actually may lead to productive leads then trust us we’re the government and will solve this case:-)
Orange on January 28 at 3:13 p.m.
Ron, your posts are over the top.
bszottlinger on January 28 at 7:17 p.m.
“Wow. The silence is deafening.”
Ron_the_Cop on January 28 at 7:50 p.m.
LOL guys:-)
I wonder sometimes why I go to bat for Sheriff Knezovich. I was Mayor Verner however I do know I would fire Chief Kirkpatrick and Asst. Chief Nicks and a few other City officials in a heartbeat.
bszottlinger on January 29 at 8:28 a.m.
Ron_the_Cop:
I was just quoting the very astute “NO-BS” (above), and was wondering why he hasn’t piped in. Today would be a good day since it is Saturday and all the Spokane County offices are closed. I’m sure he is astute and now realizes that the Sheriff did make a mistake in this particular case by even publicly speculating as to the materials used to make the bomb.
As far as Mr. Clouse is concerned, I want him to do his job and develop sources of information within the various government entities he covers, and when he finds a good story that demonstrates to the public problems within the system, reports them. In this particular story what he points out to me is that (and history supports) although the Sheriff may be the most forthcoming of local law enforcement officials he really needs some training in dealing with the media so that he doesn’t continually put the old foot where it doesn’t belong. A media savvy public official should know that his people, and other people talk to the press and be able to identify confirmation questions right away. Perhaps a well trained, knowledgeable new PIO will help the Sheriff out.
In this case the Sheriff got his thing in a ringer with the FBI and was trying to find a way out, which made it worse and only called attention to his remarks. I hope he learns from this, not by blaming the press they are important to him, but by truly reflecting upon what he did wrong.
Ron_the_Cop on January 29 at 11:46 a.m.
BSZ,
I agree. It’s just I don’t see the big public interest re the rat poison being of such sig. Yes, the Sheriff put his foot in it to begin with re FBI info. From above I have issues with the FBI and Homeland Security in the manner they deal with these incidents.
As for the PIO position most assuredly. Sgt. Reagan has been moved to the IA unit and the County is now advertising for a civilian PIO.
Do you think I should apply?
SpokyDaBear on January 30 at 1:26 p.m.
@greenLiberal.. I knew you were an idiot and now you just proved it. They don’t sell $100 swiss army backpacks at Walmart
Obviously, you don’t know what you are talking about and spend too much time with your toothless welfare wife in your single-wide 55 plus community trailer.
The only thing green about is your moldy bread in your power cut off refrigerator.
Why don’t you spend less time trolling this forums and be a man, get a job and pay your bills like everyone else?
Welfare isn’t forever!
Orange on February 01 at 5:03 p.m.
No Ron, you shouldn’t. In fact, go back to California and “clean” that place up instead. You left it in a mess.