Insulted man seeks $1 million from city
Bob DeMotte was called an “ass” last year by a member of Spokane’s Citizens Review Commission after he complained about how police handled a neighborhood fracas involving an off-duty Spokane police lieutenant and two of her children.
Now he’s fighting back.
DeMotte, a retired author and Spokane resident, last week filed a $1 million claim for damages with the city.
His rebuff before the review commission last October and the insult by commission member Marie Yates constitutes a “chilling effect on First Amendment free speech, defamation of character, and tort of outrage,” according to his claim.
“Robert DeMotte was a citizen of the city of Spokane exercising his First Amendment right of free speech at the invitation of Chief (Anne) Kirkpatrick,” said his lawyer, former Spokane County Prosecutor James R. Sweetser, in a statement accompanying the claim.
The commission’s decision to meet behind closed doors in executive session – over the objection of The Spokesman-Review – and Yates’ insult after members announced their decision to take no action “has a chilling effect on all Spokane citizens’ First Amendment Rights, constitutes defamation of character, and is outrageous,” Sweetser’s statement says.
Yates, a longtime police volunteer, represents the police lieutenants and captains on the six-member commission.
The oversight group hadn’t met in a decade but was convened last fall at the request of Spokane’s new police chief, Kirkpatrick, who on Sept. 22 asked for a review of the June 4 incident involving Spokane police Lt. Judith Carl.
DeMotte filed a complaint over Carl’s conduct in a North Side neighborhood that night. Homeowner Danny Roske had confronted several teenagers, including Carl’s children, with an unloaded gun after his mailbox was vandalized. Roske later pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor for threatening them.
On Oct. 3, the commission decided it couldn’t review the case because Carl had already been disciplined before Kirkpatrick’s arrival in Spokane with a one-day “conduct unbecoming” suspension for using foul language during the late-night encounter. Carl was in her pajamas when she responded to the incident, Kirkpatrick said recently.
Under the city charter, the commission can only review cases where a police officer has not been disciplined and can determine only whether the police review was “complete, thorough and fair.”
The failure of the review process in the Roske-Carl incident led Kirkpatrick to call for a revamped citizen oversight system.
She is gathering public comment and will propose an alternative to the Spokane City Council for action next month.
City Attorney Jim Craven could not be reached for comment on the new claim.
The city has 60 days to investigate the claim before any litigation can be started.
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