SPD Chief Craig Meidl is not the type of Police Chief that likes to deal with the media especially those that ask hard-hitting questions. Chief Meidl even went so far as to change his work cell number to fend off inquiries from those dirty, godless, hateful media folks.
So needless to say, I was somewhat surprised to see Chief Meidl’s email regarding the story I have been working on for several months. Although the email is somewhat cryptic it seems to be clear that SPD has initiated an IA Case regarding the Officer Winston Brooks testimony in Federal Court, hopefully it will go beyond just that issue.
One of the things that bothers me regarding Chief Meidl’s
email response is this statement; “We just received this information and are
following up.” As you can see from my follow-up email to Chief Meidl, which he
has not responded to, I asked the question; “I have information that SPD did
receive the information I reported in my story shortly after Officer Brooks
testified in Federal Court, would you please tell me if that information is
true or false?”
Yes, it is a hard-hitting question, but it goes directly to
the issue of transparency and the same issues the OPOC has made in their
complaint against Chief Meidl. It also is a standard investigative question
relating to “What did you know and when did you know it?”
The who, what, where, when and why are always important
things to establish in any investigation.
From the perspective of an individual who has asked those
questions thousands of times including in IA Cases there are two basic answers
and depending upon the answers can make individuals in leadership roles either
look good or bad, but it is always better to answer honestly.
When I receive information regarding an issue I do my very
best to try and confirm the information and that often will mean having to hold
off on stories until I can get some type of corroboration of the information I receive.
Exactly where does the Spokane City Council stand on this
issue… who the heck knows… even though they have been informed they also seem
to be uninterested.
Buffalo Brian Breen 