City Needs To Discuss Race, Policing

Here we go again. In his zeal to applaud the appointment of Roger Bragdon as chief of police, Rick Miller of KXLY radio jammed his foot so far down his throat that it will take a proctologist to remove it.

Not that Bragdon shouldn’t be the chief. We think he will do a good job.

But Ricko’s treatment of Eileen Thomas the other day was bad radio at its best. As he often does, Miller baited anyone who disagreed with him to call his show.

Ricko already had worked himself into a big lather because Bragdon agreed to complete the course work necessary for a college degree. The idea that the city would even request such a thing sent Miller into a towering fit. Regular Ricko listeners would know that anyone who called in to question Bragdon’s appointment would be machine-gunned down.

But Thomas, to her credit, called in anyway. She is the local president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She said that her organization has been concerned about racial profiling by the Spokane Police Department in the past. She said that she was concerned that it might continue under Bragdon because he has been with the department for 27 years.

Let’s not forget that it was the rift between people of color in Spokane and the Police Department that contributed to the public process that eventually selected Alan Chertok as successor to Terry Mangan as chief of police.

Chertok did not do well. Some people blame Chertok, others blame the good-old-boy attitude of the police rank and file. Chertok’s failure probably was a combination of the two.

But let’s not lose sight of the fact that the concern about racial attitudes in the Police Department under Mangan was great enough to change the process for selecting a chief. Now Mangan’s former assistant has the job. And once again, people of color in Spokane are expressing concern. Or trying to.

During her call to Miller, Thomas recounted a time when she felt that the only reason she had been pulled over by a traffic officer was because she was a black person driving an older Cadillac with tinted windows. The officer told Thomas that he stopped her because she refused to slow down for a neighborhood street crossing. There was no stop sign.

At that point Ricko shouted Thomas down. He didn’t let her finish her sentences. He knew nothing about the incident, yet he sided with the Police Department and basically called Thomas a liar. Then he asked her to stay on the line while he did something else. She hung up. Good for her. Bad for Spokane.

I called Thomas to hear the rest of the story. She operates an adult family home and was driving some of her residents to dinner. Thomas says she did slow down but it was impossible for the police officer to see it because his view was blocked by two disabled vehicles.

I know people in Spokane who have been followed and stopped by law enforcement officers. They feel it was for no other reason than the color of their skin. Some, driving with their kids, have been followed right into their driveways. Then the flashers come on, the neighbors come out to see what is going on. … And in the end, nothing was wrong.

But the impression remains that they are being watched. And the impression remains with neighbors, children and clients that these people are different.

But, the he-said, she-said incidents are not the point. The point is that distrust of the Police Department exists to a dangerous extent among people of color.

Ricko had the chance to open discussion on that issue. He had the chance to remind the new chief of the tension that exists between people of color in this town and the Police Department. He had a chance to let people such as Eileen Thomas tell their side of the story. He had the chance to discuss what may be Bragdon’s biggest challenge.

But he blew it. He couldn’t hear opportunity knocking over the sound of his own bombast. We sincerely have high hopes for Roger Bragdon, but he doesn’t need Ricko’s help.