On its Six o’clock news cast Saturday night, KXLY-TV broke the news about the Spokane
Police Guild’s approval of the “tentative agreement” that city officials had reached with guild representatives in early April.
According to the KXLY report, the guild voted 121 to 4 to adopt the agreement Friday night. At least one source for the story, according to KXLY, was Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who was described in the piece as being “a strong advocate” for independent police oversight and as being pleased by the guild’s “good will.”
It’s not yet clear, KXLY reported, when the agreement will come before the Spokane City Council.
Other than KXLY reporter Tania Dall, who broke the story, the only other person to appear on camera to talk about it was Center for Justice Chief Catalyst Breean Beggs.
“Police oversight is extremely important here,” he said. “The relationship between the police and the community is somewhat broken and the community is looking for the assurance of independent oversight to heal that relationship.”
After Dall recounted the Otto Zehm incident and others that have led to a breakdown in public confidence in the department, Beggs reiterated the Center for Justice’s previously expressed criticism that the ombudsman office outlined in the tentative agreement lacks the independent investigative powers recommended last year by city consultant Sam Pailca.
“The Center is glad that the Police Guild is in favor of this oversight,” he said. “What we’re looking at right now is how independent it is going to be. Because if it’s not independent, it won’t be effective.”
Off camera, Beggs said he was still very concerned about the ombudsman selection process included in the agreement that gives police union representatives an effective veto over
who gets chosen for the job. Still, he said, he’s hopeful that “we will get the quality of independent oversight” the community clearly wants.
“What’s in this agreement doesn’t preclude us getting what we need,” Beggs said, “because we can get independent oversight outside the disciplinary process and the collective bargaining agreement.”
Posted June 21st.
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