June 1, 2011 in City

Sheriff argues for supplies

List includes Tasers, software systems

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Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich gave county commissioners a $372,631 list of equipment and software Tuesday that he’d like to buy with county reserves.

Commissioners took no action, but agreed to discuss the request further.

Most of the expense would be covered by $337,000 Knezovich said he saved last year. He said commissioners agreed he could have the money, but the two who approved this year’s budget – Mark Richard and Todd Mielke – had different recollections.

“You said, ‘As long as the money is there and it pencils out, you’ve got it,’ ” Knezovich said.

Richard said he couldn’t remember such a commitment, and called for Knezovich to produce a record of that conversation.

“I’m a man of my word,” Richard said. “I will follow my word.”

Still, he pleaded with Knezovich to “do some soul searching” and reduce his list to officer-safety essentials to “help keep us afloat for the next two or three years” until the economy recovers.

Mielke said he “could probably get to the point of looking at” the top priorities on the sheriff’s list.

Tuesday’s exchange echoed one in October. On both occasions, Knezovich argued that he is entitled to keep the portion of last year’s budget that he didn’t spend.

He said he “saved” the money so it could be put to better use on capital expenditures in this year’s budget.

Other departments also saved money and they weren’t allowed to keep it, commissioners responded in October and Tuesday.

Unspent money from all departments was rolled into the county’s general fund reserves, which commissioners try to keep at 10 percent of the budget. Then, in December, commissioners agreed to supplement several criminal justice programs by drawing reserves down to an estimated 8.8 percent.

The sheriff’s office received $726,724 of that $1.5 million allocation, to prevent the layoff of eight deputies.

The capital expenditures Knezovich proposed Tuesday include $140,000 for two software systems, $90,200 for 88 Tasers and stun-gun supplies, $37,000 for “marketing and public education” and $24,000 for 60 tire-flattening spike sticks.

Also: $21,116 for bullet-proof vests, $18,898 for in-car traffic-ticket printers, $16,907 for beanbag shotguns and ammunition, $12,960 for wireless Internet-access cards, $6,000 for dog cages and $5,550 for rifle-mounted lights.

Nine comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  lewis8457 on June 01 at 6:24 a.m.

  bean bags and tasers when all the cops have to do is point and shoot?

  So last year when Ozzie was whining he did not have enough money for tasers he really did? In the story he saved $337,000 from last year.

  But many officers like Deputy Hirzel do not use the taser, his was on the seat of his police car the night he murdered Mr. Creach in cold blood.

  Bean bag guns what a riot have any of us seen a non lethal police weapon in Spokane?

  Automatic ticket writers? Really Ozzie your guys pull 70-100 grand a year but writing will be too much work for them?

  Ozzie your guys have the right to kill us straight from the mouths of our wonderful state legislator. Your Hirzel and Olsens can kill at will with bullet why all the fancy non lethals trying to make us think you care…….NOT! After your so called review boards of truth found Hirzel innocent. How much were they paid to vote for Hirzel right to murder at will?

• 

  Orphan on June 01 at 7:48 a.m.

  How about some money to purchase audio video devices to protect the public from the Deputies? I am tired of hearing about the need for more money to protect the officers. When was the last time an officer died in the line of duty in Spokane County and then ask yourself when was the last time a civilian died or was hurt when they had contact with Deputies? Where does the money need to go?

• 

  detroitdude on June 01 at 8:48 a.m.

  I agree with Orphan. Audio/video recorders that can be worn on the person of all officers. This makes so much sense yet they don’t invest in it. You want transparency? You want protection for officers and protection for citizens alike? This is your answer. The camera doesn’t lie. How many times have they been able to track down someone who has robbed a bank or store due to the in place surveillance equipment?

  Personally, if I were to get pulled over, I would breathe easier knowing the entire traffic stop was being recorded and could easily be reviewed. I know they have dash cams (or do they?), but those don’t have x-ray vision and you can only see so much from the car’s perspective. Making personal audio/video recorders mandatory for all officers is called accountability. And if everything this department has done has been justified, as we have been told, then this mandate could really be helpful in restoring the SPD/SVPD tarnished image and reputation.

• 

  horse_feathers on June 01 at 9:04 a.m.

  Ha ha ha
  Ho ho ho
  and a couple of tra la las
  That’s how we laugh the day away
  In the merry ol land of Oz

• 

  mdoodle on June 01 at 9:07 a.m.

  The sheriff needs to suck it up like the rest of the departments in the county (and city for that matter) and deal with the fact there just isn’t enough money to buy whatever he feels they “need” right now - if they needed it that bad they should’ve bought it last year and not put it off till this year.

• 

  kennyhuston on June 01 at 1:02 p.m.

  ******HINT - SR EDITORS - HINT******

  Orphan is right on the mark here. Why just yesterday I saw a firetruck respond to my place of work. Walking by it I noticed a dash-mounted Sony Camcorder, similar to one I own myself which I bought at a local pawnshop for $75.00.

  I’ve often asked myself, in this video age, why not have an independent and unprejudiced way to review LEO’s interactions with the general public? I could find only 1 thing negative to this proposal ~ co$t of purchasing and maintaining the equipment.

  How much $$$ went into reviewing witness accounts, paying experts to evaluate/re-create the events, and such - just for what happened to Mr. Creach? We still didn’t get the full story, (alleged baton strike), which we WOULD HAVE GOTTEN HAD THE EVENTS BEEN RECORDED!!!

  Do your readers a favor and check into this? I’m willing to bet that the Creach family would offer to outfit all LEO vehicles in the county with a portion of their civil lawsuit. Maybe they should make that a condition on accepting a settlement? As a tribute to their father, so any citizen killed during an encounter with a LEO would be able to tell THEIR side of the story. A simple thing their father was never able to do.

  Better yet draft up a proposal of the costs associated with outfitting and maintaining this equipment and ask the public for it!!! I’m willing to bet that it could be TRIPLE the figures cited in the last two paragraphs, (roughly 1 mil), and he would have NO PROBLEM with that passing any vote!!!

  One has to ask, “Why wouldn’t anyone want the events videotaped?” - REALLY?

• 

  DickAdams on June 01 at 1:56 p.m.

  Purchase tents and save money. Arizona sheriff proved it.

• 

  misjustice on June 01 at 10:10 p.m.

  Ozzie’s list of demands. When will it ever stop????

• 

  lewis8457 on June 02 at 8:03 a.m.

  Sadly anyone can be bought now days. a independent company would have to do the image gathering and storage.

  I wonder how many cop cars have been taken a pic of running red lights? we never hear, do you really think we would hear the cop video showed he was in the wrong? Nope it would simply disappear.
  No police officer has been killed in the Spokane area on purpose for 78 years.

  Yet it is OK to waste our money on equipment that will sit in the storage closet while the deputies and SPD are out shooting
  citizens and whining they have no non lethal equipment.

  May be if they learned how to shoot and took out a arm of a leg the bullets wouldn’t kill. Oh I know that shoot comment will bring the piglets out in droves, valleyman, kavvaari, torok.