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September 28, 2011 in City
Spokane City Council hires lawyer to look into ombudsman law
The Spokane City Council isn’t giving up on stronger police oversight, at least not for two more weeks.
The council voted 6-0 this week to delay action on the possible repeal of the city’s 2010 police ombudsman law. That move gives an outside attorney time to analyze an arbitrator’s July decision demanding that the city remove the ordinance, and weigh a possible appeal of that ruling.
The law, which strengthened the city’s original ombudsman rules from 2008, gave Ombudsman Tim Burns the power to investigate accusations of police misconduct separately from the police department’s own reviews.
Soon after the rules were approved, the Spokane Police Guild filed an unfair labor practice claim with the Public Employment Relations Commission because Burns’ authority was expanded without negotiating with the guild. The 2008 ordinance was negotiated with the union.
The city agreed to allow the case to be decided by an arbitrator instead of by the commission. Given the arbitrator’s ruling against the city, some City Council members have questioned the decision to divert the case to an arbitrator.
Assistant City Attorney Mike Piccolo said the city will hire labor attorney Rachelle Wills, of Littler Mendelson’s Seattle office. She will be hired under a small contract of less than $5,000 that doesn’t need City Council approval. She will have two weeks to finish her analysis, just in time for the city to file an appeal of the arbitrator’s ruling before the employment commission’s appeal deadline.
Wills is the second outside attorney to defend the 2010 law. The city’s case at the commission and in front of the arbitrator was handled by Spokane attorney Keller Allen.
Several who testified at Monday’s council hearing pushed the council to hold firm on the newer ordinance, in part as a negotiation strategy with the guild. Spokane resident Marianne Torres told the council that repealing the rules would be “act of profound civic irresponsibility not to mention a waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars and the last shreds of the community’s belief that their elected officials are working for the community’s best interest.”
A repeal would mean that if Burns disagrees with a decision of the police department’s internal affairs division, he no longer will be able to conduct an independent investigation into the incident. Burns said in an interview Monday that the loss of that ability is “huge.”
But he added that another part of the ordinance, which deals with making information publicly available, won’t be lost through repeal because of a recent state Supreme Court decision that said police internal affairs investigations are public documents. Until that ruling over the summer, the city only released internal reports into police wrongdoing if the department determined that an officer did something wrong. Burns said all internal affairs investigations will be placed on the ombudsman’s website – no matter the finding – since Burns was hired in 2009.
Closing Geiger: Wise or worrisome? 
polistra on September 28 at 2:24 p.m.
Now we need an ombudsman-budsman to look into the lawyer who’s looking into the ombudsman.
lowtechmaster on September 28 at 3:24 p.m.
A simple ballot referendum could mandate not only an ombudsman with authority but also a full civilian review board!!
Kivaari on September 28 at 3:39 p.m.
There are already civilian review boards. A coroners inquest is one form. The citizens review system already exists. Also, a civilian court is a citizens review. What Spokane needs is a county prosecutor that is more open to the public. The biggest stumbling block to PERCEIVED justice is the poor communications coming from Tuckers office. Spokane police have a unique ability to shoot themselves when it comes to public relations. It just has gotten worse since the Zehm case.
In the Creach case all the material was available, but instead of sitting down with the public Ozzie just road along thinking the problem will clear itself up. Even though people had access to al the valuable information very few actually read what is made public. In Zehm there is a ton of material, that Kirkpatrick could have pointed out to critics. DC Nicks had corrected the record long before this recent disclosure. SPD could have been leading the media through each piece - but I think it was too painful for them to face the truth. The city is liable in the end. It’s very hard for them to make a case for the plaintiff.
Dazzeetrader11 on September 28 at 4:28 p.m.
It’s about liability. Verner spends on nonsense if you haven’t noticed.
Condon. looks. better…daily…
Pat O'Leary on September 28 at 5:14 p.m.
Condon has zero experience in local or any other kind of government. Being a stooge for McMorris Rogers doesn’t qualify one to be mayor of a major city. He would best start at the bottom before aspiring to run Spokane.
westerly on September 28 at 5:21 p.m.
$5000?? About 10 hours work…may be a little longer.
Dazzeetrader11 on September 28 at 5:59 p.m.
Pat…Spokane’s had a look at Verner for 7 years. She sux. She’s done a terrible job. Time for someone who knows the city, has an excellent record and is hardly ( as you say ” stooge”)
one to denigrate. High honors in every job he’s had.
New blood is needed. Verner has driving the city into debt. It’s not a shortfall…it’s her crazy spending. It’s her water tax. It’s her garbage tax, it’s her tipping fees. She’s had plenty of money but it’s never enough. It’s $15 million in real estate purchases the city didn’t need. She’s not inexperienced. It’s worse.She’s a loser and it’s time to send her back to her tribe.
Condon. Vote for him.
brianrbreen on September 28 at 6:10 p.m.
If the city is going to waste my money again, I wish they would at least waste it in Spokane.
Ron_the_Cop on September 28 at 6:15 p.m.
Hey I’ve given them a way out:
Have US Attorney to expand criminal investigation to include anyone complicit and or aided and abetted in the Zehm cover up for obstruction of justice.
Request US DOH to do pattern and practice investigation of SPD like is now being done with Seattle PD.
Regionally go to OIS/OID inquest panel as Brian and I have discussed in other threads.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/27/standoff-ends-with-man-dead/?comments#c350275
OK how about this little bit of breaking news re Madam Mayor. This is from the latest proffer filed by the US Attorney’s Office in the Zehm case yesterday. Here’s the excerpt in reference to the Mayor Verner’s FAQs she pass out at her last presser. The US Attorney’s Office also noted elsewhere that Madam Mayor is an attorney. Here’s a teaser from page 11 of Proffer re: Demographics . . .:
brianrbreen on September 28 at 6:39 p.m.
Ron,
I know, I was waiting to see how the SR handles it.
wiseguy43 on September 28 at 6:48 p.m.
The police/sheriff in Spokane county are a joke, they do what they want when they want and are now seeking to eliminate any form of accountability! A property crimes unit doesn’t exist due to budget constraints but I pass ten cops with speed guns on my way to work! Killer cops get paid vacations and tax payer funded defense for the crimes that they commit! A drunk off duty officer chases an individual who was cleared of any wrongdoing five city blocks and shoots him in the back of the head and in takes two years two fire him……….It’s time to hold public officials and police officers accountable!!!!!!!
misjustice on September 28 at 7:09 p.m.
I wondered how long it would take someone to bring in the Zehm case. Wow……….
brianrbreen on September 28 at 7:41 p.m.
@Ron_the_Cop
I was thinking about getting a gift card for each one of the City Councilpersons so they could get a PACER subscription. But I thought better of it, because it would just be another waste of my money as they would never bother to read the filings anyway.
misjustice on September 28 at 7:52 p.m.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah….and so it goes.
Nothing is going to be done to stop the corruption, cover-ups. and killing of citizens; unless the cops accidentally take out a “high valued” target. As long as they kill poor folks, suicidal folks, and those deemed less than, nothing will change.
They chest bump each other, give each other the high-five, and laugh at those of us that dare to question their actions. They know that they are the “untouchables”… they even leer and sneer at anyone that dares to mention poor Otto…
“This town needs an enema!”
Ron_the_Cop on September 28 at 9:06 p.m.
BREAKING - Tim Connor reports US Attorney slams Mayor Verner and City Attorney’s Office - Mayor’s FAQ has patently false information
misjustice on September 28 at 9:33 p.m.
Uh, oh!
Liar, Liar, Pants On FIRE!
Someone’s got some ‘splainin to do!
Thanks, for the link peep!
; )
Ron_the_Cop on September 28 at 10:10 p.m.
Justy,
DAH! Ah shucks the Mayor was so pleased with her FAQs that she dropped and ran from her presser:-) Oh Mary did you lie? Tell me no.
Ed Byrnes on September 28 at 11:26 p.m.
I was at the council meeting and the council is acting in good faith and making a continued effort to have themselves, the city, and each one of us free from the shackles of the police guild.
The police guild would challenge a citizen initiative if we passed one. This is not a reason not to pass one though taking the fight to the guild now is at least as good, if not better, than taking it to them later.
After all of the lying, corruption and violence oversight that is independent of law enforcement is no longer optional, it is essential.
The city council did a good thing for all of us civilians on Monday night.
Ed Byrnes
brianrbreen on September 29 at 8:36 a.m.
Ed,
I believe the only faith involved in this play is that the council, despite the fact they have been told by not only the city attorney but two other outside firms that this ain’t going to fly, they have faith that the voters will get the idea they really are concerned, when in fact they aren’t. You saw the dog and pony show Tim Burns put together for Shogun, and that’s right where it’s going to be. If the council really was concerned they would start paying attention to what is going on around them and take the appropriate steps to develop an oversight plan that works and can be sold to the guild.
Ed Byrnes on September 29 at 12:52 p.m.
Brian,
I have to respectfully differ with you, except for Tim Burns’ dog and pony show, which I agree with you about. For me this is about the position and it’s authority rather than the individual occupying the position.
I consider it an act of good faith that the council has not rolled over and are willing to directly challenge the guild rather than try to sell them anything.
It is uncertain whether or not this course of action will fail or succeed. Clearly the city attorney and the local outside counsel they hired bungled this badly and the current issue should be heard on it’s own legal merits rather than us hanging around in procedural issues.
Respectfully,
Ed
mtorres55 on September 29 at 5:52 p.m.
Two links that will give readers the best analysis of this absurd and more than suspicious mishandling of the ordinance that gave meaning to an otherwise waste-of-space ombudsman position:
Down in Flames: http://cforjustice.org/2011/09/08/down-in-flames/
and The Lightning Round:
http://cforjustice.org/2011/09/27/the-lightening-round/
By defending the resolution with such suspicious, astonishing ineptitude, the City betrayed the trust of its citizens and that of several City Councilmembers who have honestly supported this resolution and who, I suspect, had no idea the City intended to “defend” it by NOT defending it (no argument, no witnesses), by makin up its own rules for responding to the Guild’s objection rather than following PERC rules, a sure path to the disaster with which we are now saddled.
The City’s reluctance to get behind an effective ombuds position are taking a great toll on the City Administration’s credibility and trustworthiness, particularly after 5 years of the public watching City government circle the wagons around a police officer AFTER seeing a video tape that showed the officer making a unilateral attack on an unarmed, unresisting, mentally ill citizen.
It makes me very nervous knowing that this new attempt to save the ordinance is once again in the hands of the city. The only saving grace is that this time, they’ve hired a lawyer from “out of town”.
The City Council is doing its best. I’m totally suspicious of the machinations of the rest of “the City” around this ordinance.
Ed Byrnes on September 29 at 10:34 p.m.
I share your suspicions and am grateful for your differentiating the legislative from the executive branch of our municipal government. Our executive branch appears to have limited “executive functioning” ability, to borrow a term from neuropsychology.
Ed