Probe targets detectives

Two Spokane police detectives are the subject of an internal affairs investigation after directing a Spokane firefighter to delete digital photographs he took while having sex with a 16-year-old girl while on duty in a city fire station.

“This is not the best investigative practices by our detectives,” Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession said at a hastily called press conference late Thursday.

The mayor’s press conference had been scheduled for today, but was pushed forward to 4:45 p.m. Thursday after senior city officials were told The Spokesman-Review had confirmed the identity of the firefighter and learned about the police officers’ role in deleting photos taken during the sexual encounter in the firehouse.

The detectives involved in deleting the photographs did so after concluding the sex between the married firefighter and the teenage girl was consensual, and there was “no probable cause to believe” a crime had been committed, Hession said. The mayor said the camera apparently was privately owned by the firefighter and not city equipment.

The prosecutor’s office concluded earlier this week that there was insufficient evidence to bring a criminal case against Firefighter Daniel W. Ross, but an internal investigation is focusing on whether city-owned computers were used in violation of city policy. It is not clear if the prosecutor who reviewed the case was aware of the deleted photos.

The mayor said he will wait until the Fire Department’s separate internal investigation is concluded before he decides whether to fire Ross, who is on paid leave.

Hession said he did not know how many photos were taken, or whether they showed the 16-year-old girl in sexually explicit poses with city fire apparatus, as various knowledgeable sources have confirmed.

Ross, an 11-year veteran of the department, has been on paid leave since Feb. 10, but the Fire Department’s internal investigation was only begun Wednesday after prosecutors said they would not pursue criminal charges.

“I don’t know what the city is going to do at this point, so I have no comment,” Ross said Thursday, when reached at the home where he lives with a wife and newborn daughter. He directed questions to his private attorney.

The 35-year-old firefighter and the teenage girl met on the Internet, and she showed up at Fire Station 17 on the first night Ross worked there on fill-in duty, sources said. The public is barred from the living and equipment areas at fire stations.

In response to a question, the mayor said city computers were not involved in the firefighter’s activity, but city spokeswoman Marlene Feist later said her boss was mistaken.

“There is some evidence that city computers were used,” Feist said at the end of the mayor’s press conference. She did not elaborate.

City officials have not publicly identified the firefighter, but his identity was confirmed this week by The Spokesman-Review through various sources and public records.

“He is on paid administrative leave,” city accounting director Pam Dolan said Thursday when provided the firefighter’s full name and asked his current payroll status.

Ross has worked for the city since 1995 and currently is paid $63,769 per year, public records show.

There is substantial outrage and indignation within Fire Department ranks over the fallout caused by the incident, various department sources said with the understanding that they wouldn’t be publicly identified.

“I think it’s outrageous,” one ranking Fire Department official said.

Fire Chief Bobby Williams attended the mayor’s press conference but wouldn’t answer questions afterward, citing the internal investigation.

Earlier, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, who is heading the fire department’s investigation, also said he couldn’t release any details.

“We have not made any recommendation yet because we just got the file and started the internal investigation yesterday,” Schaeffer said. The city’s legal and human resources departments also will be involved.

Ross, who is a member of the firefighters’ union, could appeal any discipline to either city Civil Service or a closed-arbitration hearing.

“Everything we know will be yours as soon as we get this investigation completed,” the assistant chief said. He wouldn’t predict how much longer it will take to determine whether Ross violated department or city policies, or whether his admitted sexual conduct should result in termination.

The incident at the fire station initially was reported in the middle of the night as a rape by the girl’s boyfriend, Acting Police Chief Jim Nicks confirmed.

After the complaint was received, a uniformed officer went to Fire Station 17, the new Indian Trail station at 5121 W. Lowell Road in the northwest corner of the city.

The acting police chief also was awakened, he said, leading to his decision to immediately call in a detective and a detective sergeant supervisor to investigate.

“It involved an on-duty firefighter in a city-owned facility,” Nicks said in explaining why he took the report seriously.

In questioning the firefighter, the detectives learned about the digital photos he had taken and determined there was insufficient evidence to make an arrest.

Although deleted from the digital camera’s memory stick, the images could possibly be retrieved through a forensic retrieval process. It is not known if that will be attempted, but Hession confirmed, “We do have the camera.”

The police chief said the detectives became involved in deleting the images of the young woman in order to prevent their dissemination, “protecting the interests of the minor female.”

Asked if deletion of the pictures by detectives could be viewed as evidence tampering, the mayor quickly shot back, “absolutely not.”

Instead of using the usual internal affairs process, Nicks is conducting a “chief’s review” – a higher than normal level of internal investigation – because of the erasure of the photos by the detectives.

Asked about the camera, Ross said, “No comment to that, too.”

But his attorney, Christian Phelps, confirmed that police detectives “did take a camera from my client.”

The City Council has been briefed in executive sessions about the case, and some members have expressed the opinion that Ross should be fired.

On the night of the incident, there were two other firefighters on duty with Ross. It’s unclear when they learned about the sexual encounter.