Tag search results for 'ombudsman' page 2

Spokane Police oversight panel files formal complaint against department alleging lack of access to reports, footage

Thu., Nov. 29, 2018

The Police Ombudsman Commission is arguing that members of the department are withholding certain information needed to perform civilian oversight of law enforcement. The complaint comes in the midst of contract talks with the union representing Spokane’s uniformed police officers, who have been working under a contract that expired in 2016.

Spokane police oversight panel pushes for further probe into officer conduct during summer protest

Tue., Nov. 13, 2018

Following the recommendation of Spokane Police Ombudsman Bart Logue, a civilian panel voted unanimously Tuesday night for a deeper look into the actions of an officer responding to a protester near the Spokane Club for U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Long-term care program seeking volunteer advocates

Wed., Sept. 26, 2018

SNAP, which runs the Eastern Washington Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, says it needs to bolster the number of volunteers who advocate for seniors in assisted-living care facilities. The program usually has between 36 and 42 people, but is down to about 29 ombudsmen, so more volunteers are needed to help residents who might have issues while living in various long-term care facilities across a five-county area. Training starts Oct. 12.

Internal police investigations, body camera video could be posted online under proposed Spokane law

Fri., June 15, 2018

Spokane City Councilman Breean Beggs wants to give those requesting records on police misconduct the option of having the information posted publicly. The Spokane Police Department has voiced concerns the law could violate the privacy of citizens making complaints.

2017 saw highest number of officer-involved shootings in more than two decades

Sun., Feb. 25, 2018

Last year saw the highest number of officer-involved shootings in more than two decades. Eight people were shot by county law enforcement officers in 2017, and seven were shot by Spokane police officers – the most for the department since at least 1995, according to department data.

Spokane police chief, ombudsman say they want to rewrite use-of-force policy

Mon., Nov. 13, 2017

Spokane, unlike other municipalities, is vague in its application of less-than-lethal tactics as laid out in the police department’s Use of Force Policy, Logue said. Specifically, there’s little clarity in the department’s treatment of what Logue calls the “sanctity of life.”

Prison reform bill provides needed oversight

Wed., March 15, 2017

The scandal at DOC exposed serious management flaws. Lawmakers are right to step in and hold the agency accountable with independent oversight.

Chief Meidl says police department will review internal affairs cases after ombudsman complaint

Tue., Feb. 7, 2017

Bart Logue, the city’s police ombudsman, said he was not given access to nearly a dozen Internal Affairs investigations that he participated in last year for certification. At Logue’s request, Police Chief Craig Meidl said the department will audit IA cases over the past two years to ensure compliance with city laws moving forward.

2016, through the rear-view mirror

Sun., Jan. 1, 2017

March 25. Headline on primary endorsement editorial was “Kasich and Clinton only moderates left standing.”

Spokane police ombudsman finalist Jacquelyn MacConnell named director of strategic initiatives

Thu., Dec. 29, 2016

A longtime Phoenix police officer who impressed community members as a finalist for Spokane’s police ombudsman job will now oversee Internal Affairs.

Spokane police oversight still a concern in new round of law enforcement bargaining

Thu., Nov. 17, 2016

Contracts with the unions representing police officers and supervisors are up for renewal at the end of the year. At the same time, the City Council is set to consider revisions to the authority of the police department’s civilian oversight body. The discussion will once again bring into conflict state labor laws and the public’s desire for law enforcement scrutiny.

Logue wins job as permanent police ombudsman

Tue., Sept. 6, 2016

Bart Logue, a former diplomat and Marine Corps provost marshal, the equivalent of a police chief, will work under a three-year contract as permanent ombudsman.

Volunteers needed for the Eastern Washington Long Term Care Ombudsman Program

Mon., Sept. 5, 2016

More than 100 volunteers are needed as advocates in the Eastern Washington Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, and training starts Sept. 15.

Shawn Vestal: There’s hope for more independent oversight of Spokane police

Thu., Aug. 18, 2016

The bad news regarding police reform in Spokane is that three years after voters demanded “independent investigations” of police misconduct, we’re still debating the meaning of “independent,” as if it is a puzzling and difficult notion. The good news is that there are signs of a re-energized push for more independence in the city’s ombudsman’s office. Part of this comes from a proposal that may be on its way toward the City Council that would attempt to untangel the ombudsman from the department’s internal affairs process. And part of it comes from the guy who is filling the ombudsman’s job right now, Bart Logue.

Both Spokane police ombudsman finalists praised after public forum

Tue., Aug. 16, 2016

The independence of Spokane’s police ombudsman dominated discussion at a Tuesday forum where community members questioned finalists for the job. Bart Logue, who’s been serving as the city’s interim ombudsman since February, answered questions at West Central Community Center alongside the other finalist, Jacquelyn MacConnell, a former Phoenix police officer.

Body camera footage access extended to members of Police Ombudsman Office

Mon., Aug. 15, 2016

The Spokane Police Guild and Interim Police Ombudsman Bart Logue have come to an agreement expanding access to officers’ body camera footage. Logue’s assistant will have access to digitally stored body camera footage turned over to the Office of the Police Ombudsman for review in specific cases. However, only Logue will be allowed to critically view the footage to offer suggestions and recommendations to police.

Police ombudsman, union set to negotiate access to body camera footage

Fri., July 22, 2016

Bart Logue, Spokane’s interim police ombudsman, wants his assistant to be able to access body camera footage captured by officers in the field. But the union representing officers argue the city’s laws prohibit that access and want to negotiate.

Interim ombudsman asks community for police oversight goals

Tue., April 26, 2016

Police ombudsman Bart Logue wants Spokane residents to give him a goal. Speaking to about 15 people at a Tuesday night forum, Logue said he wanted to hear ideas about what an independent police ombudsman should accomplish on the job.

Spokane police ombudsman search to start over after Canadian candidate’s visa denied

Fri., April 22, 2016

Spokane must start over on finding a new police ombudsman. Raheel Humayun, the Canadian citizen who was offered the job of Spokane Ombudsman in November, was denied a visa, according to the Office of Police Ombudsman Commission.

Breean Beggs offers new police ombudsman plan to minimize union influence

Tue., April 19, 2016

Spokane’s police ombudsman could be in a much stronger position to conduct independent investigations by the end of the year if City Councilman Breean Beggs has his way. Beggs says small changes to the city ordinance laying out the ombudsman’s powers and duties could effectively cut the city’s two police unions out of having a say in the ombudsman’s role and hiring, opening the door for more robust independent investigations.