The Pacific Northwest Inlander continues to dig and is doing a very good job in keeping readers informed despite continued attempts by the City of Spokane to cover things up.

http://www.inlander.com/Bloglander/archives/2015/12/04/officer-jennifer-deruwe-on-how-straub-replaced-her-with-monique-cotton

I just want to add a couple of things to the Inlander story to add some context and understanding.

During the time Mayor Condon and Frank Straub were able to push a change in the structure of the Spokane Police Department which divided SPD into separate Divisions there was considerable discussion about the inevitable “Cronyism” the structure change would bring about and this new Inlander article proves the point many including myself were trying to make.

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brianrbreen Shelalal • 3 years ago

Well, we can agree to disagree…I think it is a power grab…we shall see.

 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/apr/09/mayor-david-condon-gets-more-control-over-spokane/

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/mar/24/condon-eyes-civil-service-hiring/

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Well needless to say a “power grab” and ‘cronyism positioning” like the hiring of Kyle Twohig, was exactly as predicted, and SPD is still suffering from that “cronyism” as both Shelby Smith and Tim Schwering remain in control of two extremely important exempt Divisions at SPD, Investigations and Internal Affairs. The recent revelations regarding Selby Smith (Jim McDevitt’s choice for the position) tipping John Gately about a search warrant being prepared speaks volumes.

 

This September Inlander Article adds even more perspective as to just how bad things are at SPD.

http://www.inlander.com/Bloglander/archives/2015/09/30/documents-show-that-cotton-clashed-with-police-union

 

The links below I am providing so my readers can draw their own conclusions regarding some of the background of Condon’s major mishandling of the Cotton/Straub case. The documents were provided to me by the City of Spokane in the initial stages of my on going public records battle.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/521847c0-2451-45b6-9df6-70236ea4dda6

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/438f25d4-c3d3-4493-b560-d01de932a3cb

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/6a548aae-db83-4a7f-8738-fafd7f808d28

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/ea4d602a-9111-4e95-aef2-165053d061b5

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/ee15fdd9-6ca1-4da5-8301-776f44af2c55

 

 

 

Let me first state that I have always been a strong advocate for victims of sexual assault and always will be so if anyone wants to accuse me of being anything other than exactly that they will have a battle on their hands. Having said that, keep in mind I have also always been a strong advocate for the truth.

 

There are a number of troubling aspects to these documents in my mind. The documents demonstrate that Monique Cotton’s truthfulness and veracity where called in to question in the past. I also noted that in one of the cases (damage to vehicle) Cotton made and what was alleged to be a false report was made to then Sgt. Lydia Taylor who was retained by Frank Straub and David Condon over the objections of her peers after she was found to be a liar during the investigation of she and her husband regarding steroid use at SPD. The Lydia Taylor issue has never been investigated by the press and apparently the results of that investigation is not being released by SPD as I’ll be darned if I can find it on Schwering’s IA Cases website. Please let me know if I missed it. Taylor of course is now a “Brady Cop” so any statements she might make regarding Cotton’s reporting to her aren’t worth a hill of beans.

 

Among the interesting aspects of the previous Cotton investigations are the emails regarding the cases between all of the players and the redactions to emails between all of the individuals. Those emails of course have been heavily redacted based upon attorney client privilege. The question is what do they show? Were Straub, Isserlis, Lowe, et al protecting Cotton? What position did Straub take regarding Lowe when those accusations were made, etc.? If you read the media below you will find that it gives the appearance that Heather Lowe was trying to shape the investigation… the question is why? One of the things some media are trying to establish now is whether or not Heather Lowe is married to Police Officer Jeff Lowe which of course would add an interesting twist.

 

 

 

 

As a tactical move in my battle over the City regarding my Public Records Request I objected to the redactions and based on the conflict of interest with the parties involved requested an independent appeal review. I agreed to allow the City Hearing Examiner, who also was Frank Straub’s Hearing Examiner to review the documents in the PRR appeal process he did and the expected decision came back that the documents were subject to the Attorney Client Privilege and the redactions will stand at this point. The reason I chose that route will likely be revealed later.

 

The redacted documents above are critical to the negotiated “Independent Joint Investigation” by the City Council and the Condon Administration. For this “Independent Joint Investigation” to be the least bit legitimate Condon MUST turn over all documents completely un-redacted to the investigation.

 

Monique Cotton has responded via email to a number of media stories. Her lawyer Bob Dunn has made public statements that there are text message supporting her allegation of sexual harassment. At this point Ms. Cotton has NOT released any text messages that substantially support her allegation. If they exist now is the time to produce them!

 

 

GREAT JOB INLANDER….KEEP AT IT!!!!