Editorial: Ex-police chief never lost sight of calmer seas

The battleship metaphor former police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick used in her final interview is apt. It is impossible to turn those around quickly, just as it’s difficult to change the course of an institution like the Spokane Police Department.

To the extent that the department is moving in the right direction, much credit goes to the plain-spoken Kirkpatrick, who took the helm 5  1/2 years ago as the department was being whipsawed by roiling controversies that played out in unforeseen ways.

The department’s version of events surrounding the Otto Zehm case was unraveling. The firehouse sex scandal was fresh in the public’s mind. The shooting of Shonto Pete by an off-duty police officer would soon crest, and the jury’s exoneration of then-Officer Jay Olsen would make another devastating splash.

But through it all, Kirkpatrick was determined to turn the department around. She hired the Seattle consultant who provided a framework for a much-needed police ombudsman’s position. She punished police officers who probably would have skated under previous regimes. She took on the leadership of the Spokane Police Guild and correctly stated that its attitude and decisions were antithetical to the trust and goodwill the department needed to re-establish with the public.

That’s not to say her tenure was mistake-free. For one thing, her early pronouncement that she would leave the job in five years gave her opponents on the force a reason to sustain their battles. She fought the good fight, but her ability to bring about more changes had probably played out.

However, there is reason to hope that the momentum she created will continue. David Condon was elected mayor based in part on his insistence that the department agree to more oversight. On Tuesday, he announced that he would welcome a federal probe into the department’s practices and procedures. He also affirmed support for a local independent review panel.

More importantly, Condon made it clear that the city would no longer be seeking the advice of Assistant City Attorney Rocco Treppiedi on police matters. Treppiedi’s hard line against citizens who have filed complaints against the police department has long been a cancer. His advice in the Zehm case was disastrous.

Kirkpatrick deserves credit for paving the way for these changes. Her legacy is that she became the steady hand that steered the department away from its perilous indifference to public opinion. It would be very difficult for a new police chief to go back to the old ways. Along with changing the department, she has changed public expectations. For that, the citizens of Spokane should be grateful.

We wish her well and thank her for her service.