Spokane police chief, in wake of Seattle shooting, says outreach to minorities is ‘nonstop effort’

The fatal shooting of a pregnant woman in the vicinity of her children by Seattle police on Sunday, along with last week’s acquittal of a Minnesota police officer who shot and killed a black man, has reignited nationwide criticism of police violence.

Spokane police Chief Craig Meidl said he didn’t want to comment or speculate on shootings by officers in other cities, especially while the investigation in Seattle is ongoing.

But asked if he had anything he wanted local community members who may be frightened or grieving to know, he spoke about the department’s training efforts on de-escalation, implicit bias, procedural justice and responding to people having mental health crises.

Every officer in Spokane has had a 40-hour crisis intervention training, and 30 officers have had additional training including spending hours embedded with mental health service providers.

One of the Seattle officers who shot and killed Charleena Lyles was a certified crisis intervention specialist, ABC News reported. Family members have questioned why police didn’t use a nonlethal option when they knew Lyles had been struggling with mental health issues.

Spokane’s training is more extensive and longer than the crisis training many other departments in Washington have.

The department also trained officers on implicit bias as part of a series of Department of Justice recommendations, and Meidl said the department plans to continue talking about implicit bias during the regular in-service trainings officers are required to attend.

“We’re trying to stay ahead of the curve,” Meidl said.

In audio of the Seattle shooting, one officer can be heard asking his partner to use a Taser, to which his partner responded, “I don’t have a Taser.”

Spokane patrol officers are not required to carry a Taser but must carry at least two less-lethal force options, which include pepper spray, a baton and a Taser. Seattle policy requires officers to carry one of the three.

Spokane County deputies also are not required to carry a Taser but do carry other less-lethal options, said sheriff’s Deputy Mark Gregory.

Meidl said the department also recently purchased less-lethal 40 mm ammunition for 20 officers, which has successfully stopped people trying to commit suicide long enough for officers to take them into custody.

Lyles’ death came just days after a Minnesota jury acquitted Officer Jeronimo Yanez of manslaughter for killing Philando Castile in front of his girlfriend and her child at a traffic stop. Castile had a concealed carry permit and was fatally shot after telling Yanez he had a gun in the car, then reaching for his driver’s license.

Castile’s death and the officer’s acquittal were discussed at Saturday’s March for Racial Justice in Spokane, where many black community members said the verdict made them feel their lives don’t matter.

“My heart was breaking as I saw Philando Castile’s mom leaving the courtroom,” the Rev. Walter Kendricks said during a gathering before the march.

No uniformed police officers attended the march, but Meidl said the department has put more focus on reaching out to the community. He said he understood the verdict was painful.

“We’re cognizant of the hurt and frustration and to some extent anger in communities of color,” he said. “We’ve been making a nonstop effort to engage at all levels.”

That means reaching out to pastors through the department’s Faith Alliance and spending more time attending community events rather than expecting people to come to them, Meidl said.

Meidl said use of force by Spokane police has decreased 30 percent in the past four years, even as the department expanded the list of actions that count as force in 2016. The department stopped posting its reports on use of force online in 2015.

But a collaboration between the department and Eastern Washington University showed black and Native American people are disproportionately stopped by police, and are more likely to have force used against them.

That data is based on analysis of more than two years of police stops. Meidl said the department will discuss a path forward with the Spokane City Council during a July study session.

If people have concerns about an interaction with a Spokane officer, they should immediately call a supervisor, he said. And people can talk to officers at community events if they have concerns driven by police shootings elsewhere.

“All of these things we’re doing, we’re trying to do to reduce the tension between the Spokane police department and the community,” he said.