On January 26^th, 2016 Rachael Alexander ran this story not as a news story but for some reason buried in the Sirens and Gavels Blog of the SR. I will note that I had reported what was going on with Schwering long before her Blog post was published. Sending Schwering to the Basic Law Enforcement Academy to obtain State Law Enforcement Officer Certification will very likely become quite news worthy as more facts surface regarding Furniture-gate, The Golden Goose Fund, and SPD culture. Needless to say many members of the SPD are not happy with this situation and anticipate that Mayor Condon is setting the stage for more ruin by getting Schwering state certified.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sirens/2016/jan/26/police-accountability-director-goes-through-law-enforcement-academy/

 

The key statement in Alexander’s Blog Post is this:

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“Schwering said he completed a civil service exam, background investigation, polygraph examination and all other required tests to enter the academy with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office last year, when he was considering switching agencies. He made the decision to remain with the police department and transferred his paperwork over.”

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The reason that is important is because sources close to SPD have provided me information that Schwering also took the SPD Civil Service exam and failed. Other local media have confirmed that information via their own sources. In following up on this story I have requested comment from Interim Chief Dobrow, Director Tim Schwering, and the City Council no one has responded to emails or voice messages. Images of my emails requesting comment are provided in the images below.

Rachael Alexander links this August 16, 2013 story written by Nick Deshais when Straub and Condon were in the process of hiring cronies after they were able to convince the City Council to divide SPD into separate Departments in order to bypass the City Charter and State Law. I have heard from sources inside City Hall that the Council is considering dumping the Ordinance they passed which actually helped to create the mess SPD is now in.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/aug/16/spokane-police-force-hires-fraud-investigator/

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“A fraud investigator from the federal public defender’s office has joined the Spokane Police Department to focus on improving the city’s seizures of drug assets, implementing new laws legalizing marijuana and updating records management.”

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Some of the comments on the 2013 story are interesting, Here is one to help establish Zelda’s timeline.

For those of you that are not aware, after I retired from the SPD I worked as an Investigator for law firms including locally. During that time, I did work closely with the Federal Defenders Office where Tim Schwering was employed and I am very aware of many of the things that happened during his time there including the facts surrounding the termination of some employees including investigators.

Most people probably aren’t aware of Tim Schwering’s involvement in the high profile Edgar J Steele case in Idaho, but he was involved while he was with the Federal Defenders Office.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/sep/05/north-idaho-attorney-edgar-steele-convicted-plotti/

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/edgar-steele

 

For those of you that are not aware I supported Breean Beggs in the Prosecutors Race against Larry Haskell. I even gave him some money for his campaign. I also feel he is the best candidate for the open City Council position…don’t construe that to mean I’m a Liberal I’m not…nor am I a Conservative. I simply feel his background and experience is most suited to correct the SPD, which to me is the most important issue facing the City Council, and it will be an uphill battle.

Breean and I agree on some things and disagree on other things, here is a statement he made for Rachael Alexander’s Blog Post.

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“It will give him in the long run more credibility in the long run if he’s a commissioned officer,” Beggs said. “He wants to go that way in his career so if we didn’t do it here in City of Spokane, he would probably go someplace else.”

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Breean my friend no it won’t, anyone with law enforcement experience will tell you that spending the money to send someone to a law enforcement academy does nothing to add credibility. Your credibility and understanding, or lack thereof, comes from the street not from behind a desk. Your question should be “What motivated this move? “Is there an agenda afoot?”

 

Here is my email exchange I mentioned above:

You might ask how all this information I have provided relates to “The Golden Goose Fund”, “Furniture-Gate”, and “The Culture Continues” the answer is simple…as far as “The Golden Goose Fund” is concerned Schwering is one of the individuals who had/has control over the “Confidential Fund” as a trustee. That fund is where the money from the “Forfeiture and Contributions Fund” is sent to SPD to spend…even for furniture.

 

Okay so what does the Schwering issue have to do with “The Culture Continues”? That is also an easy one and represents only a small portion of the Culture Problem.

 

To put things in perspective first read this story:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/oct/06/spokane-police-evidence-garage-full-a-year-after-f/

You might notice if you go to the comments section the SR deleted my comments, as they were factual and didn’t make them look very good.

 

Now scroll back up and look at the phony reason given for the original hiring of Schwering.

 

Now read Joe Walker’s Whistleblower Complaint about the operation of Schwering and Straub’s CEU (Civil Enforcement Unit) which was created by Straub and Schwering when the Feds cutoff the Federal Forfeiture Gravy Train. Walker is among some SPD Cops (including some that may be on paid administrative leave) that believed the focus on forfeiture was a detriment to the protection mission and responsibility of the Spokane Police Department, and he is correct.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/7d4b74e2-4086-4585-8903-dda6e662b3b0

 

Now read these documents from the most recent PRR response received by me and the Spokesman Review. When you read these links try and set aside the alleged criminal conduct and review the forfeiture letters served on the owners by SPD. They are quite telling.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/7d4b74e2-4086-4585-8903-dda6e662b3b0

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/0ca744a9-2eab-4236-9a88-a58f4bab3c8b

 

I REPORT YOU DECIDE!