In Brief: Spokane Police Department investigating detective, sergeant
The Spokane Police Department announced on Thursday that a married detective and sergeant are under an internal investigation to find out if they violated department rules.
Sgt. Lydia Taylor was placed on leave pending the investigation. Her husband, Detective Tramell “Mell” Taylor also is under investigation but submitted his paperwork for retirement, said police spokeswoman Monique Cotton in a news release.
Mell Taylor won a Police Service Award and Washington State Law Enforcement Medal of Honor in 1996 for catching a murder suspect while off-duty – the day after he got married. He also earned the department’s Lifesaving Award in 2007.
Lydia Taylor recently served as a department spokeswoman.
CdA School District, teachers OK contract
The Coeur d’Alene School District and its teachers have agreed to a new contract following a meeting with a federal mediator.
The school board voted Thursday to ratify the agreement. The Coeur d’Alene Education Association, the union representing 565 teachers, voted for it Monday.
Teachers – and by extension all 1,250 district employees – will receive a 0.5 percent salary increase. The district had proposed no change in base pay, while the teachers’ latest offer was for a 0.9 percent raise.
The school district will reduce its share of the premium for family health coverage to 68 percent, down 1 percentage point.
The district’s health insurance plan is increasing 7.5 percent this year, or about $500,000.
If the district’s fund balance this year exceeds $6.81 million, the excess will be distributed among teachers in a one-time bonus, both sides agreed.
District employees received a 2.5 percent raise last year – the first change in base pay in about six years.
Police investigating death in apartment
Spokane police detectives are investigating the death of an apartment resident in Browne’s Addition.
Spokane police Officer Teresa Fuller said in a news release that the manager of an apartment in the 1600 block of Pacific Avenue called police about noon Thursday to report he had not recently seen a resident.
Police found the resident dead in the apartment, Fuller said.