Police consultant given high marks

The independent consultant hired to look into two controversial Spokane police investigations spent more than 30 years in law enforcement.

But as a consultant, Mike Worley of Kentucky-based Police Practices Consulting, LLC, is usually hired by attorneys who are suing police departments.

His work draws praise in both circles.

“It is hard to find an expert who has formerly been with law enforcement who can be objective,” said Richard Dobbins, a lawyer in Akron, Ohio, who hired Worley as a defense expert in a case involving two men charged with assaulting police SWAT members. “He didn’t just say what I wanted him to say. And once I made Worley’s analysis known to the prosecution, we were able to resolve the case.

“He was professional, prompt and objective. I was looking for someone who could come in and say whether the police were right or wrong, and Worley did that.”

As Worley delves into the two Spokane cases, it’s the first time officials can recall an outsider reviewing an investigation done by the department.

Worley signed a contract earlier this month with the city of Spokane to review the handling of the police investigations into the death of 36-year-old Otto Zehm, who died two days after a March 18 scuffle with seven police officers, and the handling of evidence in a case where an on-duty Spokane firefighter, Daniel Ross, had sex with a 16-year-old girl and took pictures of the act.

According to the contract, he will consult with the city regarding the Ross and Zehm cases on: “use of force, arrest procedures, investigative procedures, evidence handling, internal investigations procedures, policing the mentally challenged and related tasks as might be recommended and mutually agreed upon.”

Worley, 58, was police chief at Meridian Police Department in Idaho for two years. Before that, he spent 32 years at the Boise Police Department, where his roles included running the criminal investigations bureau and internal affairs.

Worley was in the Boise department when its citizen oversight system was created, which came shortly after seven officer-involved shootings, he said.

Worley has been doing independent consulting for about two years. He has already begun reviewing the Zehm and Ross cases, he said. The consultant expects to finish within four to six weeks.

In addition to examining the Zehm and Ross cases, Hession has asked Worley to look at the structure of Spokane’s citizen review process and make recommendations on how it can be used effectively.

The Idaho capitol city’s process for citizen involvement is regarded as among the best in the nation, according to law enforcement officials.

“The people are all full-time city employees who are not attached with the police department,” Worley said. “The civilian review in Boise can take complaints from the public or review internal affairs investigations.”

Spokane’s oversight system, the newly reappointed Citizens Review Commission, can only review cases referred by the police chief, or when a citizen is unsatisfied with the department’s response to their complaint. The commission has not heard a case for a decade.