Temporary Nevawood Cops President Resigns At Meeting

After four weeks of confusion, the future of community oriented policing in Nevada-Lidgerwood remains murky.

The neighborhood COP shop is without a leader, after temporary president Dennis Kuhl unexpectedly resigned Thursday in the middle of a meeting.

New leadership won’t be selected until Deb Wittwer’s appeal of her suspension has been decided by Police Chief of Police Terry Mangan.

Mangan won’t hear the appeal until he returns from a trip on Oct. 14. The department is conducting an internal review, which Mangan will read before ruling the appeal, said deputy police chief Dave Peffer.

Wittwer was suspended Sept. 12 after running the NevaWood COPS organization out of her home for two years. Police say she wasn’t running background checks on volunteers and violated a signed confidentiality agreement by criticizing the department.

The suspension sparked strong protest from neighborhood leaders, who claim the Spokane COPS organization, a city contractor who oversees all neighborhood substations, acted illegally.

Professional mediator Don McCloskey is talking to neighborhood leaders and police officials to get a “clearer understanding of what the COPS organization is,” said Molly Myers, the city official coordinating mediation.

The city has $1,920 budgeted for McCloskey’s mediation.

“We are of the opinion now, regardless of what they do with Deborah, we need to talk,” said neighborhood president Al French.

The neighborhood has also retained attorneys with Columbia Legal Services to investigate the Spokane COPS’ legality.

According to French, the organization may not have correctly filed papers for it’s non-profit status.

Stolen items recovered

Police have recovered about $4,000 worth of electronics equipment from a burglarized church.

Euclid Street Baptist Church Pastor Dave Smith said police returned a keyboard, compact disc player and VCR after recovering them at a Post Falls hockshop.

Police arrested a man in the robbery. His name was not available Wednesday.

The church was burglarized late last Thursday and the electronics were stolen from the basement. There was no sign of forced entry.

A church employee found the door open last Friday morning.

“You feel sorry for the fellow, but we are glad to get it back,” said Smith. “The police said judges look down on people who rob churches.”

The keyboard was the primary musical instrument for the 250-person church at 2408 E. Euclid.

, DataTimes