The amount was the highest its been in the past five years, which city officials attributed to retirements, labor contract requirements and other demands of the job.

The Spokane Police Department has fired an officer who was arrested on domestic violence charges last year.

Two days after a jury convicted a former police officer of rape, city leaders said there’s work to be done to reform the department.

If Craig Meidl’s first 13 months as police chief are any indication, he has done more than rise above the lowest expectations of his doubters. He’s acting like the kind of chief the community has needed all along.

Mayor David Condon said Wednesday his appeal earlier this fall to the Trump administration to release a report highlighting the Spokane Police Department’s reform efforts sought to highlight the city’s three-year efforts to change police culture. It was not meant to criticize changes to the voluntary federal program, enacted under President Barack Obama, to review department policies and procedures.

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.”

In response to a violent hate crime Sunday in north Spokane, prominent community leaders gathered Wednesday morning to denounce racism and hate.

Spokane’s police and fire chiefs said they are united in their support of a street renovation project on North Monroe Street, and do not share Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich’s concern that its design would hinder a downtown evacuation in case of emergency. “One hundred percent correct,” said Police Chief Craig Meidl, when asked if Monroe would suffice as an emergency evacuation route after it is reduced to three lanes from five.

The salaries of the new hires, which could bring the ranks of the Spokane Police Department to 325 commissioned officers, will be paid for through a combination of grant money and better-than-expected sales tax revenue, officials said.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is recommending that prosecutors to refile a charge of domestic violence assault against a Spokane police officer in a case that was dismissed in July.

The daughter of a Spokane police officer was arrested on Friday, a day after her father, 18-year veteran Officer John Arredondo, was placed on administrative leave in connection to the case.

Spokane police Chief Craig Meidl confirmed command staff changes that promote Lt. Tracie Meidl, his wife, to head the city’s south precinct later this summer. Craig Meidl was not involved in the interview process that produced a list of potential promotions from within as part of a contingency agreement for his appointment as chief last year.

The panel is set to vote on a bill Monday that will put the spending of money seized from suspected criminals under their authority and require regular public reports.

Mayor David Condon said the city has recruited 29 new police officers over the past several years in response to a cultural audit that found many Spokane police personnel felt they didn’t have enough co-workers. City Council members are split on ways to pay the salaries of any additional hires, including a tax on sugary drinks.

Participants in a culture audit conducted by researchers at Gonzaga University say the Spokane Police Department needs additional resources and a steady hand at the wheel to operate efficiently. The audit fulfills a recommendation made by the Justice Department in its review of the department handed down more than two years ago.

A unusual dispute between investigators, prosecutors and the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s office regarding the findings of a 2012 autopsy has allowed a man linked to two Spokane killings to remain uncharged, records show.

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.