The OPOC picked a good day to choose an Ombudsman Candidate as this SR story was overshadowed by election news of in most cases forgone conclusions. The election news did however point out that there are very few people in Spokane who actually do give a damn.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/nov/03/commission-selects-canadian-for-spokane-police-omb/
Spokane a City infamous nationally for all kinds of bad and weird things does it again by trying to hire a Foreign National (Canadian) to be our Police Ombudsman, and as is almost always the case the Spokesman Review fails miserably in informing the community of the facts so I will do the best I can.
Before anyone gets the impression that I am some kind of bigot or isolationist, be assured nothing could be further from the truth and I’m only pointing out Spokane’s long established inability not to do things right. As I have pointed out time and time again the Spokane Police Guild Contract, negotiated by Mayor Condon and Frank Straub, then approved by the City Council gutted any chance of legitimate police oversight so the truth is it doesn’t matter who eventually becomes the Police Ombudsman, but leave it to our leaders to do weird stuff.
https://examplepro.me/2015/10/23/breaking-down-the-opo-ordinance/
I guess the first thing to point out is that it is not clear in the Office of Police Ombudsman Commission Ordinance who actually does the hiring of the Police Ombudsman. Since the Ombudsman is an exempt employee of the City of Spokane who is under contract with us, does that mean it is up to Mayor Condon to present the appointment to the City council for Approval? You might recall the typical Spokane fiasco when Mayor Condon was not going to renew Tim Burn’s contract. I feel it is a legitimate question as to who is actually going to hire the Police Ombudsman. Beyond the question of hiring exactly who is going to submit the Visa Application to the Feds, The OPOC, or Mayor Condon? Someone has to sign the application under the penalty of perjury.
So how did Raheel Humayun end up in the mix of OPO finalists?
Even though Nancy Isserlis kept the goings on with the OPO Selection Committee super top secret, as I have pointed out in the past Mr. Humayun’s name was brought forward by Brad Arleth from SPD and was added to the Isserlis to be interviewed list.
https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/ed74544a-9de0-441b-bb87-a51bc0d3cf0d
When I first read the above linked minutes I thought it was a bit odd that Brad Arleth would be recommending a foreign national to interview given all the controversy over Spokane being a “Sanctuary City”. I’m certainly not alleging anything nefarious mind you just thought it was a bit odd, and something the Spokesman Review could have easily pointed out.
Correcting a common misconception that could come up in the visa application process.
Mr. Humayun DOES NOT have any experience whatsoever investigating police misconduct. As a matter of fact, the organization he now works for is forbidden from doing so. Not that it really matters since the Guild Contract also forbids independent investigations of SPD. Why could this become an issue? Simply because, if my understanding is correct, the OPOC or the City has to be able to show that Mr. Humayun’s credentials exceed those of US Citizens who applied for the position and that could be an uphill battle if one of the other applicants files an objection to the hiring. As a matter of fact, I’ve been told that at least one of the applicants on the big list had an impressive background as an Ombudsperson but didn’t even make the cut and was subsequently hired by another City. If I’m not mistaken any US Citizen with standing can make an objection to the hiring of a Foreign National so it will be interesting to see what position George McGrath and the “Anti-Sanctuary City” group takes.
I doubt that any SR Staff bothered to look into some of these very public and enlightening sources, so here you go.
https://www.bcombudsperson.ca/complaints/what-we-investigate
http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96340_01#
Mr. Humayun’s application for the exempt OPO position.
Resumes are Resumes, Applications are Applications, and always project a self-serving narrative. The interesting things I find in this application is that it gives the impression that Mr. Humayun has an extensive background in criminal case investigations with the RCMP, he really doesn’t, his experience is limited to “Forensic Biological Investigations” as a civilian RCMP employee, there is a big difference. You might also note that the application he signed for the exempt position does not include, as most government and non-government applications do, a section or box stating the applicant’s eligibility to work in the USA. That must have something to do with Spokane’s “Sanctuary City Policy”. I sincerely hope the background investigation of Mr. Humayun went well beyond the three references he lists and research into his personnel files at his employers were conducted.
https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/c2a9f4b7-2d95-4963-8eca-5d9bbe8c9537
Mr. Humayun’s work product.
It is difficult to locate examples of his work product through open sources, but I’m sure the OPOC has extensively reviewed Mr. Humayun’s work product. I was able to find this.
https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/abe8d5a1-734a-42e9-9b6e-e0bd75df7464
When all is said and done there is in all likelihood no chance that the Mayor or City Council will put a stop to this and force the OPOC to start over, because in the end it isn’t their money being wasted it is ours!
Buffalo Brian Breen 