The meeting last night of the OPOC clearly demonstrated that the battle by the Office of Police Ombudsman (OPO) and Office of Police Ombudsman Commission (OPOC) with Chief Craig Meidl and the Police Guild over transparency, actually doing internal investigations, and what the OPO Ordinance actually says may have heated up, and it is all because of Chief Craig Meidl’s refusal to investigate complaints about the demeanor of SPD Officer Scott “Batman” Hice’s demeanor toward protesters while on duty working security for a Cathy McMorris-Rodgers event, even though the OPOC for the first time ever used their authority under the OPO Ordinance to try and force an investigation.
Officer Hice is certainly a part of the “cool kids clique” and boy can the Officer dance.
SOME BACK GROUND:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/nov/29/spokane-police-oversight-panel-files-formal-compla/
I would hope that some of the reporters attending last nights OPOC Meeting found it as interesting as I did because truly there has been ongoing evidence over the years that SPD doesn’t like any kind of legitimate oversight and that evidence started to show when Mayor Condon with City Council approval negotiated away any semblance of legitimate oversight the majority of Spokane Voters wanted by approving changes to the Spokane City Charter. Diligent, Aggressive, and Hard-Working Investigative Reporting has rooted out corruption all over the Country in places like NYC, LA, Las Vegas, Chicago time and time again, even in the White house with the Watergate/Nixon scandal. Seek “Deep-throats” kids!
https://my.spokanecity.org/opendata/charter/article-16/#Section129
Even “Frequent Conservative Critique” Shawn Vestal in one of his columns addressed a big portion of the issue.
Although there has been past coverage of the issues the MSM needs to do more or things will continue on the downhill slide.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/nov/17/spokane-police-oversight-still-a-concern-in-new-ro/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/jan/17/spokane-police-guild-contract-proposal-being/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/oct/08/spokane-city-council-pares-down-police-oversight/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/oct/08/spokane-city-council-pares-down-police-oversight/
This story by new to the area and new Inlander Reporter Josh Kelety is a good start but there needs to be more and each and every Candidate for City Offices needs to be asked specific and hard-hitting questions about Police Oversight and the many other problems currently going on at City Hall.
If “This is as good as we can get,” we are in big trouble!
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“This isn’t a matter of me saying, ‘This is as good as we can get,’ ” Stuckart said. “This is me saying, ‘This is good for the citizens.’
“This should’ve been a time to take a victory lap,” he said. “Together, the citizens and the council forced the mayor to get it done, and it’s going to be a really good thing for the community.”
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/feb/14/shawn-vestal-ombudsman-rule-imperfect-but-promisin/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/feb/11/city-council-approves-new-spokane-police-contract/
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“National Model” for police oversight my arse.
“This will make Spokane a model for civilian police oversight.”
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Okay, so much for the background now what was so interesting to me about last nights OPOC meeting, aside from re-confirming what I already knew it became quite obvious the OPO and the OPOC are pissed that Chief Meidl wrote them a letter on December 14, 2018…yes on Christmas Eve, refusing to investigate the Batman Case, they were also pissed that Meidl in his letter trying to justify not adhering to the OPOC’s direction to investigate the case Meidl conveniently left off the highlighted portion of the Definitions section OPO Ordinance.
It isn’t like it wasn’t very, very, predictable that the issue of what constitutes an OPO Investigation wouldn’t come up on the very first OPO/OPOC demand that SPD conduct an IA Investigation. I knew it would and addressed it back in this 2015 story. It was also inevitable the first case would result in a Guild Grievance and the Batman Case has./There was also discussion of why the Police Advisory Committee (PAC) would kick the OPO and OPOC off the PAC.
The question I have is did someone put PAC Chair Joan Butler up to giving the OPO and OPOC the boot and what will the supplemental emails, etc. show?
You can always tell just how serious Politicians are about programs by the way they are funded, or not funded. The discussion about OPO/OPOC finances was enlightening, why in the hell would OPOC Chair Jenny Rose have to pay her own way to National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) training, and what is the story about OPO Benefit payments and the way the City accounts for them?
I’m also curious about what case OPOC lawyer and former City of Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession’s prearranged meeting with Teresa Sanders is all about, I think I know but I’m not sure.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/mar/05/hession-in-the-hot-seat/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/jan/26/mayor-took-pr-firms-cues/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/oct/27/big-changes-urged-for-police-review/
Buffalo Brian Breen 