Meidl forums worthless

The two “public forums” scheduled to give the citizens of Spokane an opportunity to question Mayor Condon’s choice for police chief, Craig Meidl, are a farce.

Experienced law enforcement officials combined with competent members of the Spokane community should be asking the pertinent questions in a “assessment center” atmosphere with vetted candidates chosen in house or from the Northwest.

The Spokane community at large does not have the intuition, knowledge or wisdom to adequately assess the professional credentials of any candidate for chief of police. The general public has no idea what relevant questions to ask in order to elicit an honest answer from the candidates. Cops know cops and cops can ferret out the baloney typically spoon-fed to the public.

Frank Straub was the perfect example of being hired by a mayor who ignored all the telltale signs of an incompetent chief of police. The mayor formed one law enforcement committee and three citizens committees to interview Straub. All three citizen committees voted for Straub and the law enforcement committee unanimously rejected him. How telling.

Recently, the Police Leadership Advisory Committee’s work was also ignored by the mayor.

Michael Yates, SPD Sgt., retired

Spokane