January 12, 2012 in City

Doug Clark: What does it take to can a cop?

Doug Clark The Spokesman-Review

Tags:Doug Clarkfuzzy-thinking fatheadsOzzie KnezovichSpokane County Sheriff’s OfficeTravis Smith

I’m hotter than a car hood baking under a July sun over the rehiring of Travis Smith, that disgrace of a deputy who was rightly canned last year by Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich.

Smith racked up three internal investigations in one year, which could be some sort of record.

His many infractions, including the mishandling of seized painkillers, established what Knezovich dubbed a poor performance pattern.

No, duh.

But the real nugget came when Smith committed malicious mischief by stabbing the seat of a truck he was searching like Brutus skewering Caesar.

Claimed he thought it was funny.

Et, tu, Travis?

The bottom line is that Ozzie did the right thing for humankind by firing this clown.

But apparently we have gone through the looking glass.

We now live in a world where up is down, down is up and fuzzy-thinking fatheads like Shelly Shapiro take moral relativism to an art form.

Though conceding Knezovich had acted on “clear and convincing evidence,” Shapiro, a state arbitrator, determined that Smith should be rehired.

Why?

Because he didn’t hurt anybody and his “acts were done out of the public view.”

All together now: “Are you #$%$#!!ing kidding me?”

Listen up all you cowboy cops. The law is yours to trample. Just don’t cause any bloodshed and make sure nobody’s looking.

The insanity of this situation provoked the sheriff to utter the following:

“I have a very fundamental belief that law enforcement shouldn’t be committing crimes and they definitely shouldn’t be committing crimes on duty.”

Thank you, sheriff.

And for the record, I would like to pass along my own fundamental belief that …

• Cocktail-swilling pilots don’t belong in cockpits.

• Catholic priests should pray with kids, not prey on kids.

• Cooks who visit the bathroom better scrub their mitts before touching my meatloaf.

I could give more examples of truths that should be self-evident, but you get the idea.

This is a bad case of déjà blue all over again for the Oz.

Please fasten your seatbelts while I flash you back to June 2006, when an off-duty sheriff’s detective whipped his manhood out at a female barista who was working at an Airway Heights espresso stand.

Remember Joseph “Cuppa Joe” Mastel?

That jerk thought what he did was hilarious, too.

Knezovich, however, was not amused. He gave Cuppa Joe the boot faster than you can whip up a pot of French press.

Months later, however, ignoramuses on the county’s civil service commission reversed the firing, which caused Knezovich to make another memorable utterance.

“What do you have to do to get fired?”

I get rapped all the time for being antipolice, but it’s not so.

I have no doubt that the vast majority of our local enforcers are honest and true.

But just once I’d love to see some of these stalwarts unzip their lips and take a loud and public stand against the fools who, like Smith, make law enforcement a laughingstock.

Forgive me for not holding my breath while I wait.

Columnist Doug Clark can be reached at (509) 459-5432 or by email at dougc@spokesman.com.

39 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

Notapatriot on January 12 at 4:29 a.m.
How about if all the Thompson saluters band together to get rid if this POS that disgraces their uniform? Un-#%€££-ing believable.
meyerlansky on January 12 at 4:54 a.m.
Once again, Doug, you shed light on some of the darkest corners of our town. Thank you!
Scoutster on January 12 at 5:45 a.m.
What do we know of what they face every day?
Maybe it’s necessary to rip up upholstery!
Were you there?
How can you question such a thing?
(Did I miss any?)
TheRoyLarsen on January 12 at 5:48 a.m.
It would have been easy to fire Travis.
Place him on leave, charge him with a crime, convict him, AND then fire him. But Nooooooooooooo.
Ozzie may be wonderful to you. But there’s a history of “Not getting it right” when it comes to due process and firing people that should be fired. And this most recent decision highlights that.
gotriddabush on January 12 at 6:05 a.m.
Catholic priests are proof abstinence doesn’t work!
Truthhurts on January 12 at 6:38 a.m.
Off-duty non-violent behavior is less of a worry than destructive and dishonest behavior on duty. “Out of public view” simply shows that cover-ups are good.
But, the solution can be immediate in the legislature. Define mandatory minimum penalties by statute.
Cover-up, and cooperation in cover-up, needs to be clearly a firing offense, by statute, and include loss of pension.
The legislature needs to fix this, immediately.
misjustice on January 12 at 6:57 a.m.
Clearly, cops that do wrong can do no wrong.
DocTom on January 12 at 7:24 a.m.
What measures are required to insure that Public Safety remains Public Safety when it is at the hands of the ongoing violations of law enforcement? We truly live in a police state. I am sickened at the sight of ANY combat uniformed, abusive, and ego-driven member of the law enforcement militia. We duly remit our incomes in the form of taxation to pay for this ongoing destructive abuse. Why? The sheriff undertakes to correct this insanity and thus is over come with the review of a public bureaucrat. The man cannot operate under this quagmire. How can we stop this disastrous oversight of the sheriff and the citizens who are ongoing victims of law enforcement personnel?
Nugget on January 12 at 7:32 a.m.
What does it take to can a cop? I guess just get Doug Clark on the case so he can fire up those that already loath them. People change & maybe that’s what the SO decided with this guy. I don’t know, but maybe, just maybe, they HAD to hire him back before a lawsuit was filed for wrongful termination.
cdaterry1 on January 12 at 7:52 a.m.
Thank you Doug for your pragmatic observations….seems to be well written and researched…what a pathetic example of what our “civilized society” has become. Is this the result of our legal system out of control??….to much “lawyering on tv shows”???….NOBODY IN THE WORLD COPIES OUR LEGAL OR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM - wonder why????
brianrbreen on January 12 at 7:54 a.m.
@DougClark
I don’t understand why you insist upon continually stealing my material, likely LC envy.
For the record Mastel did receive a one-year suspension and was forced to retire, not to my liking, but that’s what happened through the Civil Service System so in fact they did make him gone. I think you are aware of how screwed up that was and ended up with the political folks getting rid of the one troubling Commission member, and new legislation increasing the Commission from three members to five.
Despite what some might say, it isn’t easy to fire a cop there are a lot of hoops to jump through. But one way to make sure it doesn’t happen is to agree to let a lawyer from the Westside make the decision whether or not you jumped through all the hoops or not. Sure it appears to be cheaper to agree to arbitrate discipline matters, but in the long run a majority of the time it isn’t. I wonder whom you as a citizen would prefer to have decided the fate of a cop, a Westside lawyer or five citizens from the community. I personally will opt for members of the community. Unfortunately my option has been negotiated away by the masterminds looking to save a buck.
Why wasn’t “Smith the Knife” charged? According to the SR, because the victim was “reluctant”. Horse puckies, cases are charged all the time with reluctant witnesses, so even if the witness is reluctant and it involves a cop, send a search party out, find Tucker, and if the case is SOLID, as this one appears to be, charge it up. Puts you in a heck of a lot better position for firing the guy if you have a conviction. Not to be confused with charging up a rotten case against a cop, just to look good. The acquittal from which will end up costing millions.
Whether it is “Smith the Knife” or “Cuppa Joe” someone has to start looking at where this whole thing got screwed up, and why.
jklapp on January 12 at 8:01 a.m.
Sounds as if Doug is “Pig-Biting Mad!”
soccermomsusie on January 12 at 8:09 a.m.
Great question in your headline, Doug! “What does it take to can a cop?” Short answer - probably would take Libertard Demoncrat time wasters like “Due Process,” “Legal Protocol,” “Documentation,” etc. etc. In other words, “work and expertise.”
RIDICULOUS!!! Ozzie was right in shooting from the hip. Too bad the arbitrator decided the way she did. It would have been better for her to have ruled against the cop and then when he sued and got his job back, you would have had another column ready to go about idiot jurors.
You are my favorite reporter, in that you only report what you read in your own paper. I like this because it makes things less confusing.
BTW, I am really enjoying your channeling of Ed Anger this morning!
HEAR OUR VOICE!!!
liveinfearoftheSPD on January 12 at 8:44 a.m.
All together now: “Are you #$%$#!!ing kidding me?”
That has been echoing throughout the mountains since the decision came down.
D Statler on January 12 at 8:44 a.m.
Ozzie will get him next time !! We are in need of a citizens review panel with great big TEETH! Thanks Doug for your attention and Ozzie for trying to do the right thing. This officers actions and mishandling of the drugs is very concerning to everybody.
@ scoutster, your arguement holds little merit
horse_feathers on January 12 at 8:51 a.m.
Brian,
Even when the prosecutors do take a police case to trial they do it with a wink and a nod. Remember the lame job Brian O’brian did prosecuting the obstruction case against Jeff Harvey involving the game officer?
DickAdams on January 12 at 9:05 a.m.
You say laughing stock, I say disgrace.
Truth_and_Justice on January 12 at 9:28 a.m.
@ gotriddabush “Catholic priests are proof abstinence doesn’t work!”
So are you telling us that the Penn State football coach and Syracuse basketball coach or the various teachers or any of the other predators out there are all secretly Catholic priests? Abstinence isn’t the problem. Predatory homosexual behavior is (and yes, sometimes it’s predatory heterosexual behavior but that doesn’t make the same kind of headlines, does it).
D Statler on January 12 at 9:51 a.m.
@ horse feathers, That would be the same Brian O brien that looked me in the eye and said : It doesn’t matter when a crime occurred. I have seven years to change the charges and case facts. He was defending his DPA actions and the insueing sanctions that were assessed against the porosecutors office. It is amazing how the actual facts can be twisted to shed the light on their position at any given time.Very Concerning!
brianrbreen on January 12 at 9:55 a.m.
@horse_feathers
I don’t know what kind of a job Brian did with Harvey. You might disagree with me regarding Brian and probably have had a lot more dealings then me, but all my dealings with him have always been fair.
I don’t know who made the decision to take that case to trial, if it was Brian I think it was wrong, and if it was higher up, as I suspect it was, it was also wrong. In my view that was a swearing contest with more evidence on Harvey’s side. I’m not sure what prevented the Brady stuff regarding Harvey from coming in since he did take the stand, but I don’t believe it did, it would be interesting as to why it didn’t.
Notice I said SOLID criminal case, and I don’t think that one was. Kirkpatrick in her premature termination used O’Brien’s charging as an element of the termination. In my view had prosecutorial discretion been utilized in not charging, the City would have been in a lot better position for terminating him. Somewhere there is a disconnect between the prosecutors office and the Sheriff/Chief about what in the end is best for the community and their departments. Sometimes it is smart to bring a criminal case sometimes it is stupid. In the “Smith the Knife” case it looks like it would have been smart.
You know where I stand on the Harvey issue, and that case just goes to show how there isn’t a lot of forethought that has been going into some of these decisions. I’ve been on both sides with cops, prosecuting, and defending and as much as I dislike it I have to side with Harvey, only because as soccermum points out, if you are going to do it you have to do it right.
I might add that you were wrong earlier about one individual. He along with some other brass told Mangan now is the time, but Mangan ignored it.
I will tell you this about O’Brien, even though he is a Canadian Import he can’t skate, shoot, or stick handle worth a crap, but I think he is a good prosecutor and has the community interest at heart.
nosheet on January 12 at 10:00 a.m.
Umm…can someone tell me what happens to a journalist when they violate their ethics and standards…and oaths??
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 12 at 10:28 a.m.
Is it any wonder nobody in Spokane, and probably very few people around the country, have any respect for our police officers anymore.
Kind of hard nowadays to know who are the real criminals.
BlondeSquawker on January 12 at 10:31 a.m.
“What does it take to can a cop?”
First start with a big pot of boiling salted water?
Shelala on January 12 at 10:57 a.m.
Amen, Doug! I know there are bad guts out there that will steal my stuff, thump me on my head or harm me. What I didn’t realize that they were called cops. I wonder if the criminals currently in lock up will organize and respond to calls if we pay them enough and offer a little immunity?
stitch on January 12 at 11:44 a.m.
@scoutster: Heck yes, you missed much..Lets start with the simple fact that all this happened because the owner of the vehicle made a comment that Smith felt was “a personal attack on his ethics and integrity”. This led officer Smith to feel it his duty to write 9 infractions, stab the seat of the vehicle, and then ultimately mishandle the Narcotic Analgesic that once confiscated was placed in his personal locker?? Please don’t tell me there is nothing wrong with this picture..It had nothing to do with performing his sworn duty..It had everything to do with, I am the omnificent, don’t piss me off..Get real scoutster..
brianrbreen on January 12 at 12:56 p.m.
@Shelala
Give you an idea why I’m holding off on the yard sign?
Shelala on January 12 at 1:45 p.m.
@Brian
Yep, Okay I though just maybe burned by fire would be better than drowning, but the result is still the same. How about we just bolt the doors of the public safety building, put bars on the windows and call it jail? (there’s always a few innocent folks in prison anyway - but God, don’t let the lawyers out)). We can then open the jail, deputize the inmates and let em go. I bet we wouldn’t even have to pay them until they got organized enough for a union. Ta Da, we’ve solved jail overcrowding and saved a lot of money. I don’t have any real opinions anymore of where to throw my support. Maybe there is a sort of fogger we can use, like I use in the basement to kill bad spiders.
David Bray on January 12 at 1:52 p.m.
I never thought I’d say the following or believe it to be necessary…..
It’s a good idea to be armed and ready in this country and especially in Spokane. You can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys anymore and the bad guys like it that way….
Get your CWP and take some shooting lessons while you still can.
Shelala on January 12 at 1:57 p.m.
or how about this. We identify those bad apples and offer them huge pot fulls of money to leave. Just cut to the chase AND they actually might leave.
Shelala on January 12 at 2:06 p.m.
Don’t like that? How about this. We build a big pretend community out by Airway Heights. Then assign the bad apples to patrol this community. They can club, stab, issue multiple tickets and run amok in a controlled setting. A supervised locked playground for bad cops, of sorts. I can’t believe I am not on the city council with these sorts of innovative ideas.
D Statler on January 12 at 8:45 p.m.
@brianRbreen, I would have to disagree about BrianObrian sir. I believe he has out lived his usefullness for Spokane County. He may be a nice enough guy to visit with over a beer. I hope he has a great retirement real soon. I don’t believe he really cares about justice,legal or moral. He was willing to let three innocent young men go to prison on a technicality. Then set back and defend the mistakes made by his younger DPA. It is Brian and other senior prosecutors that are responsible for properly training the young DPAs. When they don’t set a correct example.The ball keeps rolling down hill. I realize that Steve Tucker is a bad leader in general. These senior prosecutors have been around long enough to know what is right and wrong. Tucker will be gone soon and they will still be responsible for one of the most powerful offices in America. I would hope that they would show the utmost respect for the power they possess. Things have been pretty messed up downtown. :^(
brianrbreen on January 12 at 9:00 p.m.
@D Statler
I completely understand your position, and your feelings. I can only speak to my experience with O’Brien. I have read about your son’s case in the media and the media reports are troubling. I don’t know what more I can say other than you have my sympathy. Please don’t mistake some of my comments as an endorsement for the prosecutor’s office. I just try to be fair and there are some very good prosecutors in the office…but there are some bad ones too.
Sunshinegurl on January 13 at 12:16 p.m.
Has anyone checked to see how many officers and deputies have been given the boot in the last 6 years?
How many of those never came back, how many returned after not guilty verdicts, and how many returned after arbirtration?
My guess is that Smith is one of, well, one. I don’t remember any other deputy going the route of arbitration and getting his job back.
nslopeofw on January 14 at 5:32 p.m.
It would be nice if soccer mom suzie, the fake conservative, just went away. SR, if you continue the “slamming of non liberals” farce, the decent thing to do would be to add a just as ridiculous fake progressive. All you are really doing is proving you dislike all non-liberals. That in no way presents a impartial local paper.
WayFedUp2 on January 15 at 5:34 a.m.
Yep, one big 6’ 4” buffarilla on SVPD lied on his report making no charge a felony charge for his featherless cap….consequences? None. Victim’s word against a Police Officer’s word. Can’t win.
arroyoribera on January 20 at 12:40 a.m.
BrianRBreen, What are your thoughts on Revocation of Police Officer Certification as a remedy for police misconduct? http://spokanepoliceabuses.wordpress.com/2007/09/16/revocation-of-police-officer-certification-a-viable-remedy-for-police-misconduct/
July on January 20 at 11:51 a.m.
Doug, that is what happens when you have past mayors of this city, afraid of the Police Guild. The Police Guild is there for one reason; protect its officers at the cost of citizen safety. And the support they generate from the public is threat based. For example, if the mayor and the people do not approve financial allocation for the department, i.e., inflated wages, well then, sorry, the department cannot guarantee public safety.
I am pro-police. I was a reserve for years, loved it and worked with great people - not in Spokane.
There are great officers in Spokane – great officers - who become victims of the faulty hiring system. Those few rotten apples who pass through the hiring process are those who either knew someone, or, at the time, fit a profile. What results is; bad officers tarnishing the department.
A little side note: To anyone who thinks our police department needs raises; check out other large city departments. For example: The annual median for Spokane in 2009 was $44,799; U.S. Census and entry level base pay for SPD officer is $41,070 according to their web-site. In NYC, the annual median from 2005-2009 was $50,173-55,233; U.S. Census and the base pay for a cadet is $41,975; ehow. Now take into account cost of living. You do the math.
How to can a cop? Let’s just have a better hiring process.
July on January 20 at 11:58 a.m.
…Was just referencing Spokane City to the County because there are many many similarities in law enforcement politics between municipal and county – again – many good county officers too but same rule applies.
brianrbreen on January 22 at 7:32 a.m.
@DavidBrookbank
I just noticed this so I’m late in responding. A police officer in Washington State cannot be decertified without a “FINAL” finding of misconduct (see below). So when an Arbitrator or a Civil Service Commission reinstates the officer there is no method at the State level to decertify the officer. The Sheriff is stuck with Deputy Smith.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.101.105
d) The peace officer has been discharged for disqualifying misconduct, the discharge is final, and some or all of the acts or omissions forming the basis for the discharge proceedings occurred on or after January 1, 2002;
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=43.101.010
(10) When used in context of proceedings referred to in this chapter, “final” means that the peace officer has exhausted all available civil service appeals, collective bargaining remedies, and all other such direct administrative appeals, and the officer has not been reinstated as the result of the action. Finality is not affected by the pendency or availability of state or federal administrative or court actions for discrimination, or by the pendency or availability of any remedies other than direct civil service and collective bargaining remedies.
As I’ve said a number of times I feel arbitration of disciplinary matters is dumb, cheap but dumb. I feel the same way about trying to staff a department primarily with lateral transfers, cheap but dumb. They are just like anything else you get what you pay for, as the sheriff now realizes with Travis Smith.
@July
Got to agree with you, it appears much more care is needed. I’m sure Mr. Brookbank could fill you in on the inexplicable hiring of Corrections Deputy John Elam by the SPD, and there are others. I also agree that there are great officers on both departments being overshadowed by the bad ones.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/21/county-settles-donkey-kick-death-suit/