Hose me down if I’m wrong: Mayor missed sexcapade call

Let me get this straight.

A police detective and his sergeant advise a Spokane firefighter to erase the explicit digital photographs that he snapped while having on-duty sex with a 16-year-old girl in a city fire station.

So Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession holds a press conference and tells us:

“This is not the best investigative practices by our detectives.”

Gee whiz, mayor.

Ya think?

Granted, Hession has been the strong mayor of Washington’s second-largest city for only a couple of months. But I’ve eaten linguini with more backbone.

Thank goodness Spokane City Councilman Bob Apple has the guts to tell it like it is.

“I think the destruction of evidence is tantamount to a criminal act in and of itself,” Apple told this newspaper.

Bravo, Bob.

This stinks worse than a rendering plant on a hot July day.

These so-called investigators, who are now subjects of an internal affairs probe, should be exiled to a midnight foot patrol in a city park.

And this 35-year-old Sparky who can’t control his hose should get the ax – for starters.

The whole community feels this way.

Too bad the mayor isn’t willing to convey our collective sense of outrage.

Thursday’s press conference was a golden opportunity for Hession. He could have proved himself a genuine leader. He could have inspired our trust.

It was his first real test, and he flunked it big time.

Spokane would rather face a bird flu epidemic than another protracted sex scandal.

Hession should know. He was appointed mayor after revelations of Jim West’s Internet trolling for teen/man love led to West’s ouster in an overwhelming recall vote.

But Hession tap-danced.

It’s not as if the new mayor was caught unaware.

Weeks have passed since Daniel W. Ross, a 35-year-old married firefighter, had a romp at Station No. 17 with a 16-year-old girl he met over the Internet.

This is not the venue to rehash all the details except for a few points:

“A Spokane police detective and a sergeant determined the sex was not criminal because the age of consent in Washington is 16.

“Based on that, the two directed Ross to delete the digital snapshots he took during his sexual encounter.

“Prosecutors have declined to press criminal charges.

Somebody pinch me.

Asked during the press conference if deleting the photos might be evidence tampering, Hession responded with a firm “Absolutely not.”

Oh?

Washington law, as reporter Bill Morlin pointed out, “makes it a felony to possess pictures showing anyone under under 18 involved in ‘sexually explicit conduct.’ “

I don’t have a fancy law degree like the mayor. But those photos sure sound like potential evidence to me.

We really don’t deserve this. Life in Spokane has been so pleasant since we got rid of West.

The Zags have been great. The figure skaters are coming. Another fine Bloomsday waits just around the bend. …

This should be a time for optimism and civic pride. But here we go again with more sexcapades and bad behavior involving city employees.

This needs to be dealt with. Fast.

Need I remind our appointed mayor that he will need a few more than six council votes to win the next election?

With his preference for dark suits and power ties, I pegged Hession as a buttoned-down, tough-minded guy who wouldn’t be afraid to kick ass. So far it looks like I blew that call.

Hey, Dennis, you really want to be our strong mayor?

Grow a pair.