Police communication director moving to parks department

After three years at the Spokane police department, communications director Monique Cotton is leaving to manage outreach and public relations for the Riverfront Park redesign, as well as other parks initiatives. Cotton began her new role Monday. “We have a unique opportunity to do something special in Riverfront Park,” Mayor David Condon said in a news release. “Telling an engaging story requires someone experienced in bringing a vision to life. Monique has had great success doing that during her time with the Spokane Police Division.” In addition to her work for Riverfront Park, Cotton will manage communications for the parks department, including information about classes, sports leagues and golf courses. Cotton said as far as she knew, the police department would be finding another commissioned officer to share public information officer duties with Cpl. Jordan Ferguson. Cotton said she’s proud of the work she did for the police department, including managing communications about the Department of Justice’s collaborative reform process and organizing the Junior Police Academy. She especially enjoyed telling human-centered stories about the work officers were doing, she said. “That was a really cool experience for me to be able to highlight those stories and tell them to the community,” she said.