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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Alleged computer use led to crash


Pratt 
 (The Spokesman-Review)

A sheriff’s deputy was looking up a suspicious vehicle on his dashboard computer when he rear-ended another driver last month, officials said.

Deputy Gavin Pratt will likely hear next week if he will receive a traffic ticket or be disciplined.

“The sheriff can’t order both a citation and discipline,” said Dave Skogen, president of the Spokane County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

Pratt is accused of committing multiple violations when he rear-ended a minivan at Cannon Street and Sunset Boulevard on Jan. 15.

It’s the deputy’s second on-duty crash since October. He became a deputy in 2004.

According to Spokane County Undersheriff Jeff Tower, Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich sent an official letter to Pratt on Jan. 29 that detailed the four alleged violations in the recent collision: failure to pull off the road to use the computer in his car; failure to operate his vehicle in a safe manner with regard for other people’s safety; failure to wear his seat belt; and following another motorist too closely.

The letter is an official way of asking the deputy for his side of the story before making a decision, Tower explained.

The deputy can request a hearing or respond in writing.

His response to Knezovich’s letter arrived Feb. 8, but the sheriff has been out of town so the contents are unknown, Tower said.

Knezovich is expected to return today or Monday.

Pratt could not be reached for comment.

Skogen said that when he contacted the deputy recently, Pratt told him, “Sometimes people have a string of bad luck.”

Last October, Pratt T-boned a car at an intersection, Skogen said.

Pratt was given a citation for failure to yield right-of-way.

The deputy was given a ticket in the first crash because he wasn’t legitimately distracted by other police duties, Skogen said.

In the second crash, he was looking up a suspicious vehicle on his mobile data computer when he rear-ended the minivan.

“We are more distracted than any driver out there, and we’re asked to be by the citizens,” Skogen said. “We’re bound to run into somebody.”