The inlander published another good article today this time regarding Theresa Sanders.

 

http://www.inlander.com/spokane/condons-right-hand/Content?oid=2636866

 

The Inlander article outlined this information in the story so as I was the other complainant besides Tim Connor I thought I would add some perspective to Tim’s “She blew it off” statement.

 

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But Heather Lowe, the city’s director of Human Resources, says she only heard about the complaints once they appeared in the media. “They were never turned over to me,” Lowe says. “I don’t even have a record of them.” Instead, Sanders informed both complainants that she was responsible for handling the complaints. They weren’t happy.

“She blew it off,” says complainant Tim Connor, formerly with the Center for Justice. “I gave her three witnesses. She talked to none of them.”

_________________________________

 

I’ve been blown off regarding my documented concerns about Frank Straub since he hit town, so I’m used to it. Some have stated that I must be ROFLAO, well admittedly I have had a few laughs but the truth is I’m actually mad, disappointed, indignant, and a lot of other things all rolled into one.

 

I anticipated being blown off by the Condon Administration and Theresa Sanders because I knew that ANY negative information surfacing about David Condon’s rotten choice of Frank Straub would be swept under the rug as quickly and quietly as possible. I was also concerned about being blown off by the Media and the City Council but felt there was some hope that despite their continued touting of the wonderful job Straub was doing once they started looking into the FACTS the TRUTH would come out…I was wrong…so here we are today with ALL the predictions coming true. To be very clear about my complainant “investigated” by Theresa Sanders, I didn’t stop with her, I emailed all of the City Council members with my concerns about the very, very, serious matter of Domestic Violence Reporting and included all of my documentation which clearly showed the need for a real investigation. The City Councils reaction was simply to ask Selby Smith, who provided them the same BS he had given to Theresa Sanders to try and cover Straub’s tracks…they of course bought it and did nothing.

 

Beyond the City Council I also supplied Nick Deshais of the Spokesman Review with all of my records and emails regarding my complaint…again nothing. The really unfortunate thing is that with all of the dishonesty now coming out no one has bothered to take an in-depth look at how SPD really does handle Domestic Violence reports and cases, and before David Condon even begins to try and point out the wonderful program Straub set up with Rachel Dolezal’s good friend and supporter Regina Malveaux…just a warning David…I’m ready.

 

BACK TO MY MAIN POINT…HOW DO YOU TELL?

It is pretty simple…you do a Public Records Request for all the documents concerning your complaint! I of course did just that and the records clearly revealed a “blow off”. I’m going to provide just a few of the blow off examples I found and hold back the rest, which clearly show that Theresa Sanders and Selby Smith were having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to deal with my request.

Theresa Sanders sent this email to Nancy Isserlis upon receiving my request that Sanders NOT investigate my complaint. Notice the blow off. What is troubling for me is the Isserlis response to Sanders.

“Oh boy. Cranky people everywhere. Full moon tonight”

 

Keep in mind this is the City Attorney reacting to an independent investigation request.

 

I would think that any Spokane Citizen, such as myself, would have an expectation that the City Attorney would read the complaint and request for an independent investigation, inform Theresa Sanders that legally she can’t investigate the case, and try and figure out how to properly handle the situation. Well of course in the Condon Administration those expectations are far too high and it gets even worse. The following emails between Sanders and Isserlis, pretty much speak for themselves.

 

 

Well there you have it folks just a snapshot of the big picture. As I’ve mentioned before keep in mind that the revelations coming out now, and the dynamic of Washington State Surpreme Court decisions regarding the Public Records Act will force government into the good ole backdoor closeddoor process of yesterday…not to worry folks…there are other ways! 🙂 🙂

 

NOW THAT’S THE TRUTH!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My column today brings up even more serious questions I raised at the time Spokesman Review articles appeared about steroid use at SPD. There were two issues that concerned me at the time. First; Knowing what Straub and Condon knew at the time why wasn’t a thorough and complete administrative investigation done and Mel Taylor was simply allowed to retire. Second; Why did the Spokesman Review and other media not follow up on the obvious leads available to them for an in-depth investigative report.

 

In my analysis of the recent Public Records Dump I have come across what COULD BE answers to at least my first concern. One of the things I want to note early in this piece is the very positive position members of the Lieutenants and Captains Association took when Frank Straub refused to terminate Lydia Taylor when she was caught lying and became a “Brady Cop”, that FACT will be very important in understanding the dynamics of the Straub firing which I will continue to write about.

 

As far as my second concern, I doubt I’ll ever gain a full understanding of the WHY.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

Here are some stories from the SR regarding the issue I suggest folks read them to add perspective.

 

http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2014/oct/03/police-chief-embattled-detective-received-steroids/

 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/oct/04/spokane-police-officers-investigated-for-steroids/comments/

 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/apr/25/police-sergeant-demoted-2-ranks/comments/

 

http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2015/may/20/shawn-vestal-questions-still-remain-about/

 

 

NITTY GRITTY

The link below is from an email attachment sent by Frank Straub to Nancy Isserlis.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/d4d302a3-e001-4b4e-a618-4d88b68e960a

 

The big question at least in my mind is just exactly what were the “representations and assurances” made to Mel Taylor and who were they made by? Given Straub and Condon’s decision NOT to terminate Taylor’s wife Lydia, over the objection of Lieutenants and Captains, did the “representations and assurances” have anything to do with Lydia and the decision to keep her? I should note that any legitimate Chief of Police would have known the ramifications of keeping a Brady Cop and would have terminated her. Another question that comes up is exactly what was the relationship between Frank Straub and the Taylors?

 

 

 

 

Regarding the issue of transparency and IA Cases:

I have been unable to locate any investigative files in the public domain regarding what led up to the “retirement” of Mel Taylor or the IA Investigation of Lydia Taylor. If you search this you will find that Mel Taylor’s case was “Administratively Suspended” because he retired, and that’s it. As far as Lydia Taylor’s IA Investigation being posted you are welcome to try to find it. I haven’t bothered for a while because this great transparency tool isn’t searchable and is a cumbersome joke.

https://my.spokanecity.org/police/accountability/reports/

OF INTEREST

 

I always find the consultants recommendations COPS/DOJ make in their reviews and follow-ups, based on some of my past experience, INTERESTING. Although Condon, and Straub over and over touted the great strides they made… the evidence is in, and for the amount of money we are paying Brian Coddington, can’t he come up with something better? I hope someone actually delves into what has really been or not been accomplished.

 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/dec/14/spokane-police-making-progress-on-justice-departme/

 

 

This Spokesman Review story is the beginning of Straub’s usual narrative when he gets fired that it was all the bad cops that did it to him and he was fighting them tooth and nail. Can’t he come up with something else it really is getting old.

 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/dec/15/former-police-chief-frank-straub-says-old-guard-in/comments/

 

I’m finding a lot of interesting FACTS in the documents I have, and at this point what they tend to show is that the “old guard” was actually trying to move forward but were hindered at every turn.

AND A TEASER

 

It looks like there was a beef between the “Old Guard” and the “Straub Guard” over the insane decision by Frank Straub to use Grant Fredericks, of Karl Thompson fame, as an SPD expert in the Ryan Holyk case…so stay tuned.

http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2015/aug/07/shawn-vestal-video-expert-from-zehm-case-was/

 

 

 

 

Frank Straub may be an “In your face” type of guy but he also has a soft side. Every place he has been he has helped out his friends, as a matter of fact one of the big complaints when he was Director of Public Safety in Indianapolis was his propensity to arrange for contracts for his friends. Of course no one could have predicted the same thing would happen here in “The City of Choice”.

 

One of the many outrages expressed in Indianapolis was when Straub arranged a contract for his buddy Bill Bratton, who had recommended Straub for the Indianapolis job. Bratton was at the time head of the big consulting firm Alterity. Bratton is now the Police Commissioner for the City of New York, so it will be interesting to see if Straub ends up in some capacity with NYPD. Another big complaint about Straub in Indy was that he didn’t disclose his relationships, including being a past paid consultant for some of consulting firms he hired. Straub who has been a paid consultant a number of times, including with his friend Bernie Kerik, knows how the business works and how important it is when you are in that business to have friends who will help you get contracts. Aside from all of the news media in Indianapolis, a few retired SPD Cops, and the Spokesman Review who would have ever known about this kind of stuff?

 

During my analysis of the PRR Documents I ran across this information I thought might be of interest to my readers. 

 

Dr. Lorie Fridell is a longtime associate Frank Straub’s through a number of different organizations including COPS/DOJ. So I thought the email string I linked below was interesting. Even more interesting to me was this suggestion Straub made regarding how to pay his friend. 

_____________________________________ 

“My thought is to engage Lorie using Jag Byrne funds to conduct the training for SPD exec staff, precinct commanders, academy staff, OPO and OPO Commission (hopefully all will be in place by the Fall) as well as community of color leaders to demonstrate our commitment to this important topic.”

_____________________________________ 

 

I might have to look at those Jag Byrne fund expenditures a little more closely if someone else doesn’t.  🙂 

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/07beb2a9-1d9a-4ad1-be1a-

0e64d62a0b99 http://www.fairimpartialpolicing.com/people/ 

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/6eabee2f-68f3-4708-8b35-530d3b0ec24a 

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/f502e31f-91b5-418f-8f28-ea1ac70ea0e7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned previously when you receive documents in response to your PRR be sure to study them carefully as you will inevitably find information that directly relates to your PRR as well as other interesting cases in need of future PRR follow-up.

 

As you may be aware Ms. Terri Pfister offered me the opportunity to purchase a Disc containing emails and other information which she indicated were responsive to my PRR. I went ahead and purchased the Disc, a copy of which was also provided to other local media outlets. The information on the Disc is of course only partially responsive to my PRR, and I continue to fight that battle.

 

The Disc does however contain a lot of information for follow-up on a number of issues concerning the Cotton/Straub case as well as other high profile cases and issues involving SPD, Frank Straub, and several others. I’m in the process of analyzing the information contained on the Disc and will write articles concerning my findings later.

 

One item I found relates directly to my PRR as well as other PRRs that have been submitted to the City. It also provides some insight as to the nonsensical defense Mayor Condon is using for not releasing the Cotton/Straub information until after the election. It is pretty easy for me to predict what one of the findings will be of the City Council “Independent Investigation”. My prediction is that the findings will include a long explanation of how Ms. Pfister’s office is understaffed, SPD Records is understaffed, the Enterprise Vault System sucks, and the Public Records Act is too hard to understand. Some of that will be true, but not all.

 

FIRST SOME BACKGROUND

 

As many of you know, including the SR staff whom I have emailed a number of times about the issue, I have continually pointed out that SPD and the City has released to the media personal information about individuals contained in police reports and other documents. For example; in the much publicized Rachael Dolezal case the SR in a story linked a police report made by Dolezal that had not been redacted by SPD and contained her personal information including address, phone numbers, date of birth, etc. all of which could have easily been used for Identity Theft or in the case of Dolezal locate her and do bad things. Release of that type of information is in direct violation of Washington States Public Records Act and could easily result in an expensive lawsuit against the City of Spokane (That’s us folks!).

 

Here is just one of the many times I mentioned the issue in hopes the media or someone would get after it. No one did.

 

 

 

http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2015/feb/20/handling-of-spokane-transgender-attack-detailed/

 

NOW TO THE NITTY GRITTY

 

The pieces of information below, copied from the Disc I received, point out some obvious problems when it comes to PRRs, as well as SPD and City Management.

 

The link below is a letter to Tim Schwering from Union Local 270 trying to resolve an issue brought forth by an SPD Records Clerk. The issues the Records Clerk brings up are very, very legitimate concerns, not only for the Records Clerk but also for the Citizens of Spokane. If you read the letter you will find it points out my concerns and it also has to make one wonder if the standard wait for your records time frame is two years as Ms. Pfister told me, it would take to fulfill my PRR. Another question that arises is that SPD spent a lot of our money on some fancy report redaction software that anyone can tell in reviewing public records releases…DOES NOT WORK. The thing is, SPD and the City know darn good and well it doesn’t work.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/42b71aee-bcac-47ad-83cf-c3dd9d525039

 

This is a copy of an email Tim Schwering sent to the various players in the management game with the above letter from 270 attached. His email shows, IMO, just how seriously Schwering and apparently others like to make light of serious issues, complaints, and the possibility the City might have to spread more of OUR money around. You can draw your own conclusions about his email.

 

 

 

 

A LITTLE TEASER

If one were to study the information in the Disc released by Terri Pfister they would find a lot of good information regarding the Cotton/Straub case but beyond that case others as well including what appears to be a deal made by Frank Straub in a very high profile SPD case that had many people shaking their heads. I am going to wait and see what other local media outlets will do with the information, if anything, but I will report on it.