Key factors for consideration by SPD Brass in trying to establish respect and trust from the Community?

I was going to hold off on this story until I received my PRR response from the City regarding the McMurtrey case, however since it will be a while I decided to go ahead with it.

There is an old adage that the cover-up is always worse than the dastardly deed, and unfortunately here in Spokane we know just how true that is. Had SPD simply come out with the truth back in February of 2016 the McMurtrey case would have been long behind them. The problem the Mayor and Craig Meidl had at the time was the controversy surrounding Condon choosing Meidl as his new Police Chief. If the McMurtrey case and others had come to light back, then when Meidl was the Assistant Chief with his hands all over the case the outcry would have been even worse. It was a given throughout the Department that Justin Lundgren was going to be Meidl’s Assistant Chief, and he too was involved in the McMurtrey case. The video itself of course brings up real questions which should be being asked by the NAACP, LBGT, and Human Rights folks, something that would not have been a good thing during the controversy of Condon’s pick of Meidl. Those facts, in my view, explain why it took the above PRR to bring at least some transparency.

Every law enforcement leadership school, or IA investigation school stress the need to be transparent and get negative publicity out there right away to show that you aren’t trying to hide things, maybe Meidl and Lundgren forgot those sections of the training. What is even worse for SPD is trying to hide the McMurtrey case and others from the OPO, which of course calls into question how much the OPO doesn’t know. Making it worse was when Justin Lundgren during the Public Safety Committee Meeting refused to acknowledge SPD had done anything wrong. At least now we know that SPD is good with trying to hide negative Body Camera Video.

Another question that arises as far as SPD and transparency is concerned is are they more concerned about the “Leak” or being more transparent, rumors of course run rampant in Police Departments much like they do in the Military, or even the private sector, so I can’t help but wonder if there is in fact a big “Leak Investigation” going on at SPD. If there is, they haven’t talked to me yet, not that it would do them the least bit of good.

As I reported Council President Stuckart during the PSC Meeting confronted Meidl and Lundgren, after receiving the “We don’t have enough staff to be transparent excuse!” with the hit that the “Staffing Analysis” recommended by Cops DOJ only covers Patrol, and not the entire department as they have in the past. The study I’m sure he was referring to was the Etico study the completion of which has been put off until June for some unknown reason.

Of course, there are some folks that are very aware that the entire SPD needs a detailed staffing analysis done.

https://examplepro.me/2016/06/22/spd-staffing-analysisbe-on-the-lookout/

https://examplepro.me/2015/10/25/more-about-spd-staffing/

https://examplepro.me/2016/04/05/a-conversation-with-interim-chief-meidl-and-major-justin-lundgrenpart-three/

https://examplepro.me/2016/12/30/disorganized-organization-or-organized-disorganization/

https://examplepro.me/2017/01/18/the-fade-and-forget-strategy/

 

I’m not sure if the CC has ever read the other Staffing Analysis of SPD that was done by The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Diagnostic Center and was completed in October of 2016. Few people probably have read it, but there is a lot of interesting stuff in it. The study itself, is only on SPD Patrol and primarily relates to SPD staffing and Community Oriented Policing.

Apparently Chief Meidl and Assistant Chief Lundgren overlooked one of the highlights of the report and especially the Model Practices thingy.

.

 

Like I said it is always better to “address potentially negative issues quickly” honestly and take ownership.

 

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/478a60df-2ed2-469a-a188-ccfb22ddc917

Most folks won’t be that interested in the OJP report but I was, and especially since it was like pulling teeth via a PRR to try and find out where in the world all our Cops are assigned throughout the SPD. Even though Teri Pfister finally provided me with this which had to be created AFTER my PRR, I’m still not sure, and will need to do more digging.

 

I think anyone with a background in “Staffing Analysis” would take a look at the SPD Organization Chart and have some serious questions about a number of things, and sure as heck Deployment, Span of Control, Utilization Factors, Caseloads, ecetara. Keep in mind this primarily represents only Commisioned Staff and not Civilian Staff.

As an example:

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/0564268a-3f65-4155-afa9-d7b96d8e703a

 

On another note:

My story file is full so I emailed Rachel Alexander a bunch of info regarding this story she wrote and some of the folks involved.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/feb/20/before-and-after-house-flip-of-distressed-property/

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/8a6c2cf2-df28-46f9-91a3-00cc1dd7af71

 

I haven’t heard back from her, hope she digs into it. Could be an interesting story but would require a little gumshoe. If the SR decides not to take it on, I will get to it down the road.

 

I REPORT YOU DECIDE!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And part of yesterday’s somewhat contentious City Council Public Safety Committee Meeting was proof positive.

I had to sit through yet another Dog and Pony Power Point Presentation, only this time I had to keep my mouth shut, and refrain from laughing out loud. Fortunately, City Council President Ben Stuckart finally called BS on the Power Point Presentation which was being given Assistant City Attorney Eric Folsom who is the legal advisor for the Spokane Police Department. Council President Stuckart of course didn’t us the words BS rather he chose more appropriate terminology but the meaning was the same, and it shortened up the show.

For folks that aren’t aware SPD has been fighting tooth and nail the Asset Seizure and Forfeiture Ordinance being proposed by Council Member Breean Beggs for quite some time and Folsom’s PP Presentation was SPD’s last ditch effort to prevent passage of the Ordinance, which by the way is in my opinion a good ordinance because it does at least attach some control over how the Forfeiture money SPD takes in is spent, and also requires an independent audit something I’ve been calling for over and over. Having provided CM Beggs with some input regarding the Ordinance, and having been there done that I had to work hard at not laughing out loud when Folsom started to utilize Power Points from the Department of Justice’s “Guide to Equitable Sharing for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies” linked below instead of the actual Federal Statute.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/967c9673-341b-461f-8d10-74e336639783

Folsom tried to hang his hat on the Guide’s, and that is what it is … just a Guide, on the references to “Chief Law Enforcement Officer” it didn’t work and CP Stuckart made it clear that it was a “legal argument” apparently had been researched by the City Council’s Attorney, and possibly others I’m sure. The money SPD gets from Equitable Sharing with Feds primarily comes from 18 U.S.C. § 982. Criminal Forfeiture, however there are many, many Federal Statutes which allow local law enforcement agencies to share money the Feds grab. Once again last night I went through the Federal Statues to see if they are silent regarding “Chief Law Enforcement Officer” help yourself maybe I missed it.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/30ab9618-b32f-4c42-813e-468a8a4ca9aa

So why did Folsom try and hang his hat on Equitable Sharing when it makes up only a portion of the money SPD gets from Asset Forfeiture? You got me, the only thing I can think of is that it was about all he had. If you are interested the link below shows how much money SPD directly got directly from the Feds in 2016.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/37c88f63-22c4-49ea-bdef-c246ac4c4605

 

Keeping in mind that the City’s Forfeiture and Contributions Fund fluctuates depending upon the number of assets, including land, the City can seize in any given period. It is fun to draw a comparison between the $32, 975 the Feds shared with SPD in 2016 with the balance of $66,455 Mayor Condon reported to the City Council on February 13^th, 2017.

 

Also, don’t forget the State always gets their piece of the pie, which on February 13^th, 2017 was $12, 341.04. You can do your own math.

 

With respect to how the F & C Fund fluctuates, this should give you an example:

 

The SPD emphasis on Asset Forfeiture can indisputably be traced to Frank Straub, and obviously that emphasis continues with Craig Meidl, although the new Ordinance might put a cramp in that style.

After this Senior Staff Meeting on July 9^th, 2014 it was a Full Court Press!

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/0256283f-92e5-4fc7-b51b-18db24679489

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

“My sense is that the (seized assets) were low … because we’re not paying enough attention to it,” Straub said.

According to city documents, drug busts have brought diminishing returns in recent years. In 2010, more than $380,000 was brought in to the forfeitures and fines fund. But next year, just $250,000 is expected.

Apparently, Mr. Folsom is the Attorney from City Hall that was assigned to the Full Court Press.

The Full Court Press did create some problems though, where do you put all that stuff you seize on State Felony Seizures?

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

One thing you don’t do, as City Attorney Folsom correctly pointed out, when you got all those vehicles is let cops pick and choose which seized vehicles they want to use for rides, and if you do … don’t talk about it.

 

Okay enough of that frivolity and on to more fun Stuff!

MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL!!!!

 

The McMurtrey case and my PRR was brought up by CM Beggs, who rightly questioned why if Craig Meidl though it was the most atrocious conduct he had seen in his career wasn’t it brought to the attention of the OPO like SPD is required to do. Of course, the answer was certainly less than adequate by any reasonable person’s standards. Shortly thereafter Assistant Chief Justin Lundgren jumped in stating that SPD had done nothing wrong. I don’t know OPO Logue very well, I’ve only met with him a couple of times, so don’t have a real read on him, but his response to Lundgren’s statement clearly demonstrates why he ended up being an Officer, and I was just a lowly NCO, my reaction would have been far less restrained. Interestingly, since much of this involved what Logue did not know about IA cases when I did meet with him I was surprised he didn’t know as much as I did. Logue did shoot back with the McMurtrey case and the Curt Kendall case.

https://examplepro.me/2017/02/04/sheading-some-light-on-ia-case-c-16-044/

Beggs and Stuckart both pressed the issue of why IA Cases aren’t posted in their entirety like the have been in the past, and of course the explanation was that SPD is going to a IA Synopsis format like Seattle PD/OPA use. I knew that one was coming so I handed Jacqui MacConnell copies of posted Seattle/OPA Sustained and Not Sustained IA Cases which are done the way they should be, one of which includes recommendations made by the Seattle OPA to the Seattle Police Chief in the Synopsis. The CC was of course provided with copies of the same cases I gave MacConnell. Incorporating Spokane OPO recommendations into the posted IA Synopsis would be a good idea.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/74d40993-fc93-4a91-b425-ff510c2cbd12

You might want to notice that Seattle PD/OPA use the “Preponderance of Evidence Standard”, like most other law enforcement agencies, rather than the higher “Clear and Convincing Standard” SPD for some unknown reason uses. Having had a peek at the new proposed OPO Ordinance CC Beggs is working on I know that the proposal includes using the “Preponderance of Evidence Standard” which is the National Standard for IA Cases.

Another thing you might want to know is that because Seattle PD, unlike Spokane, is under a Consent Decree based upon the DOJ Patterns and Practice Investigation of their Department you don’t see the Easy Out over there like you do here in Spokane all the time.

One of many:

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/0bc1b652-e00b-4b32-8956-b4946a12d253

The reason Seattle continues IA Investigations even though the Cop retires or quits is to determine where along the line someone other than the Cop that took off screwed up, including Brass.

What were Meidl’s and Lundgren’s excuse for why they aren’t able to get the job done?

The usual pat answer… “We don’t have enough staff!”

The question is will the City Council buy it. Looks like CP Stuckart might not because he shot in the question about the delayed Patrol Staffing Analysis and clarified that it only covered Patrol Staffing.

https://examplepro.me/2016/06/22/spd-staffing-analysisbe-on-the-lookout/

https://examplepro.me/2015/10/24/the-headline-reads-spokane-police-department-fully-staffed-what-does-that-mean-to-us/

https://examplepro.me/2015/10/27/are-you-being-served/

Maybe CP Stuckart really does read my stories? Hope he reads this one!

Let’s do this by the numbers, even though SPD has now deleted IA Cases prior to 2016 … I wonder why?

2011- 69 IA Cases

2012-84 IA Cases

2013-117 IA Cases

2014-68 IA Cases

2015-88 IA Cases

2016-50 IA Cases of which only 18 synopses have been posted.

I’m not sure how SPD was able to get all 117 IA Cases posted in 2013 with less staff, but they did. With a little over nine cases per month I wouldn’t think it would take any overtime, and with just over four cases per month one would think 2016 would be a piece of cake.

Of course, I’ve learned over the course of time law enforcement data never does line up.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/517ae735-fef8-47d4-a1b3-0f84b52e5813

How about this for a staffing idea? Make Brady Cops Lydia Taylor and Sandra McIntyre official redactors instead of paper clip counters? Yes… I know how could you trust them!

It got kind of weird when Justin Lundgren told the PSC that posting the IA Cases creates a records retention problem because once posted on the internet they are there forever and could violate the Washington State Records Retention Schedule which is six years. I hope some IT Techie can get with Justin and help him figure out how to prevent document caching and indexing.

For those that don’t remember we went through this entire exercise back in 2012 when the City went to the expensive OnBase by Hyland system and the systems redaction capabilities were touted.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/dfb91b14-c4ef-4e38-851a-7ef761eba16a

Even though there were a lot of Cops at the PSC meeting the only time I got the good old evil eye, at least that I know of was when I asked Justin Lundgren “Whatever happened to that expensive redaction software we bought?” his response was that it still takes time to load it.

Did I give you folks a clue that I ain’t buying the understaffed excuse? I wonder if the City Council will. I won’t bother to go into the emails back and forth between Tim Schwering and Nancy Isserlis on this very issue.

It was nice to say hello to Jacqui MacConnell again even though I knew it would raise some eyebrows among the cops present. Based upon what I know of her she has been a Cop long enough she would be used to those kind of things.

I did volunteer to do SPD’s IA Redactions…but there were no takers.

I REPORT HSS YOU DECIDE!!!!

Tomorrow at 1:30 in the City Council Briefing Center.

 

It will be interesting to see who actually shows up as far as the media and the public are concerned, even though as a general rule the public isn’t allowed to ask questions or provide input they have been in the past.

One would think folks from the NAACP, SPARC, THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, and other groups would show up given some of the things which are scheduled to be discussed. I’m sure at least some media besides myself will be there, as it could get interesting.

I kind of wonder whether or not the PSC will be asked to go into a secret “Executive Session” at some point during this meeting?

 

I REPORT YOU DECIDE!!!!

We start out having to go through the highly-publicized Deputy Travis Smith arbitration loss a few years back.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/feb/10/spokane-sheriffs-deputy-fired-bad-behavior/

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/jan/10/ruling-overturns-deputys-firing/

http://www.inlander.com/spokane/nothing-but-the-truth/Content?oid=2731370

Why did Ozzie have to go through the Smith case yet again? Well for you folks of course!

Ozzie, when asked isn’t quite sure where Travis Smith is assigned, apparently not in patrol. I would have thought Ozzie would have known where a guy like Smith is every shift. Ozzie’s answer reminded me of another highly-publicized case involving another former Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy who later went on SPD was fired by the SPD Chief of Police, took it to Arbitration, the City settled before the Arbitration decision, which made the Chief at the time very mad so he had the cop sit at a desk in the Chief’s office so he could keep an eye on him for a while.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/aug/27/city-paid-cop-who-kicked-suspect/

We live in a small town, so it is only natural that things somehow get linked up. The defense in the Karl Thompson case unsuccessfully tried to get into the trial a confrontation between Otto Zehm, and Jerry Hensley when he was a Deputy with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

It is always a dilemma for a police administrator what to do with Brady Cops, and there are quite a few. The last Brady/PID list I got was from Tuesday February 23^rd ,2016. Notably absent from the list, despite all of Ozzie’s very public denunciations of Travis Smith and the Arbitrator is none other than Travis Smith. An oversight perhaps, or maybe Ozzie didn’t think he would qualify? Other notable Absentees are Ozzie’s basket of liars like Larry Lindskog, Dave Reagan, Dave Wiyrick, Fred Ruetsch, Earl Howerton, Ron Wright, Jerry Brady, Rob Lee, and all the others in his basket of deplorable people.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/c0d71e64-1471-4183-845c-e52ce34536f2

I will update my Brady/PID List when I find out IF based on Ozzie’s “evidence” Larry Haskell thinks I qualify, then it could get interesting.

Ozzie says because his staffing level is so low he has no paperclip counting positions and I guess is forced to let his Brady Cops continue …. continuing whatever it is that they do.

I of course did maintain hold-backs throughout this nonsense but the most uncomfortable hold back for me was the one I bring up at the end of the video.

I REPORT HSS YOU DECIDE!!!!