The Spokane Police Guild is crying foul over unarmed “security ambassadors” who have patrolled downtown since May.

The guild, which represents Spokane’s 275 police officers, filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the city in September.

Guild officials claim the city violated the collective bargaining agreement by hiring the ambassadors to do police work.

The ambassadors began working in May as part of the Parking and Business Improvement Area project.

The PBIA raises money by taxing downtown businesses, buildings, properties and organizations. The city also has chipped in nearly $200,000 from parking revenues.

The money is used for parking improvements, marketing campaigns, market research and downtown beautification.

Some of it also was used to hire the ambassadors, who patrol an 80-block area between Cedar and Browne avenues, the railroad viaduct and the north bank of the Spokane River.

They look for suspicious activities and report problems to the police department.

The police guild has asked the state Public Employment Relations Commission to force the city to fire the ambassadors and pay union members unspecified damages.

City personnel director Gary Persons said the union has no case because the city didn’t actually hire the ambassadors, the business improvement district did.

The commission has scheduled a hearing for early February.

, DataTimes