The Spokane City
Council will take up a proposal to give the police ombudsman independent
investigative authority during its regular meeting Monday at 6 p.m. in Council
Chambers at City Hall.
The Spokane
mayor’s office and Police Guild last week reached a tentative agreement on a
new labor contract that changes the way the police ombudsman provides oversight
of officer misconduct, but may not go as far as establishing the independence
called for by voters in February.
At the same
time, the Spokane City Council is scheduled to take up a new ordinance to
create an independent ombudsman with capability to launch investigations under
the authority of a new five-member citizen Ombudsman Commission.
The ordinance is
being pushed by Councilman Steve Salvatori to implement a city charter
amendment that won 69 percent voter approval in February. The amendment calls
for independent investigation by the ombudsman.
City Council
President Ben Stuckart said Friday that he wants to postpone a vote on the
ordinance until the tentative agreement with the Police Guild gets a
public airing.
Police Guild
members have yet to approve the new contract; if they do, it will be made
public, Stuckart said.
After that, Stuckart
said he wants to schedule at least three public forums to take public input,
including comment from the city’s Use of Force Commission.
The commission
in August made 26 recommendations, including giving independent investigative
authority to the ombudsman.
Stuckart
declined to say whether the tentative agreement provides for an
independent ombudsman.
But proponents
of an independent ombudsman said they fear the tentative agreement will not go
far enough in satisfying the city charter requirement.
Spokane attorney
Breean Beggs said there is concern that adopting the ordinance Monday would
cause Police Guild members to vote no on the contract agreement.
He said he has
been told the tentative agreement makes a few changes in the current
ombudsman’s authority but does not establish the ability to independently
investigate wrongdoing.
The ombudsman
was created by the City Council in 2008 but has only been able to look over the
shoulders of the department’s internal affairs office.
The ombudsman
can receive complaints but has to forward them to internal affairs for
investigation. The ombudsman can recommend additional investigation in a case,
but that recommendation can be overruled by the internal affairs investigator,
the chief or the mayor.
Beggs said it’s
his understanding that the tentative agreement would allow a new Ombudsman
Commission to rule on the recommendation for additional investigation.
Salvatori’s
proposed ordinance also would give authority over independent investigations to
a citizen Ombudsman Commission. An exception is made for criminal
investigations, which would be solely handled by internal affairs.
The ombudsman
also would not be involved in discipline under the proposed ordinance.
Beggs said
independent investigative authority for the ombudsman would be legal, even if
it is not in the contract, if the ombudsman has no role in discipline. The
ombudsman would actually have a stronger hand in oversight if he or she were
removed from the disciplinary process, he said, adding that such responsibility
should remain with internal affairs, the chief and mayor.
The job of the
ombudsman, he said, “is to open a window to the public” about cases of
misconduct and the department’s internal handling of them. That’s where
significant accountability lies, not necessarily with discipline, he said.
Salvatori said
adopting the ordinance Monday would not preclude making changes after a
contract is approved.
He said the
public, through the ballot, has been demanding independent oversight
of police.
“Democracy does
not go on hold because there is not a contract,” he said.
Salvatori
characterized the agreement as a “thoughtful product” but said he and other
council members are required to keep the terms confidential until the tentative
agreement is approved by the Police Guild.
He said he
believes the negotiations over the ombudsman’s role should have been done
publicly with participation by the guild.
Guild President
John Gately said the agreement has not yet been discussed by guild members at a
meeting, and he declined to comment further.
For the past 21
months, the guild has been working under its old contract, which expired at the
end of 2011.