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

Spokane County deputy fired for not arresting woman, then having sex with her

A Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy was fired Wednesday for reportedly having a sexual relationship with a woman he didn’t arrest even though she was wanted on a felony warrant.

Deputy Riley Quine had been under investigation since someone called the Spokane Valley Police precinct in mid-June to complain that the deputy failed to arrest the woman and then began exchanging sexual text messages with her.

The man who called the precinct never filed a formal complaint and stopped cooperating, said Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, but the internal investigation moved forward anyway.

“It was a serious accusation,” he said.

Quine reportedly encountered the woman on a noise complaint call at a Spokane Valley apartment complex. She was wanted for failing to appear at a court hearing on a charge of first-degree malicious mischief.

Knezovich said Quine violated seven Sheriff’s Office policies, including not arresting the woman, having sex with the woman and lying during the investigation.

No report was filed about the noise complaint so all investigators had to go on were notes in the department’s computer-aided dispatch system. Those notes didn’t match Quine’s version of events, Knezovich said.

“There was no way to reconcile what he said versus what was in the CAD,” the sheriff said.

Knezovich said he decided to fire Quine based on the sexual relationship and not arresting someone who was wanted by law enforcement.

“There are certain lines we don’t cross,” he said.

Quine used his private cell phone to exchange texts with the woman and Knezovich said he wasn’t able to review them as part of the investigation.

Quine was hired as a new recruit two years ago. He had no previous law enforcement experience.