This recent story in the Spokesman Review really brings forward many unanswered questions.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/nov/04/new-details-emerge-in-police-sexual-assault-case/

Perhaps the most glaring question is why the SCSO, Spokane County Prosecutor, Rob Cossey, and the reported victim are allowing the case to be scrutinized, analyzed, and in a sense tried in the press? Exactly what is the motivation for all the publicity? These are questions the media should be asking themselves, as well as key figures including the Sheriff and Prosecutor but for some reason apparently have no inclination to do so, or aren’t reporting on it if they are.

Unfortunately for the female officer her name is widely known in the Spokane Community simply because the SCSO, Spokane County Prosecutor, Rob Cossey, and others involved apparently didn’t feel the need to have the search warrant affidavits sealed in this case. I can understand Cossey not objecting because in the end all the publicity may well help his client from the standpoint of demonstrating to a jury that the SCSO Investigation was motivated by something other than getting to the truth and may have been the product of some political agenda or desire to demonstrate just how great the oversight process is in Spokane.

For those that don’t recall I dealt with some of the issues here, but this second information release needs some more scrutiny.

https://examplepro.me/2015/10/29/sr-sexual-assault-story-a-new-perspective/

To be clear the SCSO and Spokane County Prosecutor had the option to have the court file sealed but for some reason decided not to. The obvious question reporters should be asking both Knezovich and Haskell is “Why”. It is pretty easy to anticipate the answers “It’s all about transparency and the public’s right to know.” Any seasoned investigator or investigative reporter knows that is the answer they will get and would have this follow-up question ready. “Why is transparency so important in this case and not important in cases of Officer Involved Deaths?” Pretty easy stuff really.

Corruption?

Most people aren’t aware of an investigative tool available to the Spokane County Prosecutor that was put in place years ago specifically to investigate Corruption and Organized Crime that tool is the Special Inquiry Judge Proceeding (been there done that). Granted the last two times the public is aware of in which the SIJ was utilized “The Great Massage Parlor Caper” and “The Carlile Murder Case” The Prosecutor and Law Enforcement blew it by releasing secret information from the SIJ, so there is no guarantee they would get it right this time.

BTW, the Spokesman Review covered extensively “The Great Massage Parlor Caper” in the beginning, but not a peep since. What ever happened to all those people charged and the property seized SR?

Back to the SIJ.

The disadvantage in utilizing the SIJ is that it is supposed to be done in secret so the public doesn’t get to know what went on unless someone is charged and the case goes public. That of course means WE have to rely on the integrity of the individuals involved and the system. I know…I know; I’m just stating the facts.

The advantage is witnesses called before the SIJ can be forced to testify or go to jail including cops. They can also be charged with perjury if they lie in their testimony.

Another advantage is that the SIJ was designed, as every Prosecutor knows, to protect innocent people from being subjected to public disclosure of unsubstantiated and untrue allegations of criminal conduct.

The obvious question of course for the media to ask both Knezovich and Haskell is; “Why did you choose not to utilize the SIJ, which would open the door to forcing cops to provide evidence while at the same time protect everyone involved?” Chances of that question being asked are almost nil.

Obstruction?

The media accounts without reading the affidavit seem to portray the possibility, but a search warrant affidavit is a long, long, way from establishing whether or not “Obstruction” actually occurred and where it occurred.

Malfeasance?

See Above!  🙂

The OPOC picked a good day to choose an Ombudsman Candidate as this SR story was overshadowed by election news of in most cases forgone conclusions. The election news did however point out that there are very few people in Spokane who actually do give a damn.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/nov/03/commission-selects-canadian-for-spokane-police-omb/

Spokane a City infamous nationally for all kinds of bad and weird things does it again by trying to hire a Foreign National (Canadian) to be our Police Ombudsman, and as is almost always the case the Spokesman Review fails miserably in informing the community of the facts so I will do the best I can.

Before anyone gets the impression that I am some kind of bigot or isolationist, be assured nothing could be further from the truth and I’m only pointing out Spokane’s long established inability not to do things right. As I have pointed out time and time again the Spokane Police Guild Contract, negotiated by Mayor Condon and Frank Straub, then approved by the City Council gutted any chance of legitimate police oversight so the truth is it doesn’t matter who eventually becomes the Police Ombudsman, but leave it to our leaders to do weird stuff.

https://examplepro.me/2015/10/23/breaking-down-the-opo-ordinance/

I guess the first thing to point out is that it is not clear in the Office of Police Ombudsman Commission Ordinance who actually does the hiring of the Police Ombudsman. Since the Ombudsman is an exempt employee of the City of Spokane who is under contract with us, does that mean it is up to Mayor Condon to present the appointment to the City council for Approval? You might recall the typical Spokane fiasco when Mayor Condon was not going to renew Tim Burn’s contract. I feel it is a legitimate question as to who is actually going to hire the Police Ombudsman. Beyond the question of hiring exactly who is going to submit the Visa Application to the Feds, The OPOC, or Mayor Condon? Someone has to sign the application under the penalty of perjury.

So how did Raheel Humayun end up in the mix of OPO finalists?

Even though Nancy Isserlis kept the goings on with the OPO Selection Committee super top secret, as I have pointed out in the past Mr. Humayun’s name was brought forward by Brad Arleth from SPD and was added to the Isserlis to be interviewed list.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/ed74544a-9de0-441b-bb87-a51bc0d3cf0d

When I first read the above linked minutes I thought it was a bit odd that Brad Arleth would be recommending a foreign national to interview given all the controversy over Spokane being a “Sanctuary City”. I’m certainly not alleging anything nefarious mind you just thought it was a bit odd, and something the Spokesman Review could have easily pointed out.

Correcting a common misconception that could come up in the visa application process.

Mr. Humayun DOES NOT have any experience whatsoever investigating police misconduct. As a matter of fact, the organization he now works for is forbidden from doing so. Not that it really matters since the Guild Contract also forbids independent investigations of SPD. Why could this become an issue? Simply because, if my understanding is correct, the OPOC or the City has to be able to show that Mr. Humayun’s credentials exceed those of US Citizens who applied for the position and that could be an uphill battle if one of the other applicants files an objection to the hiring. As a matter of fact, I’ve been told that at least one of the applicants on the big list had an impressive background as an Ombudsperson but didn’t even make the cut and was subsequently hired by another City. If I’m not mistaken any US Citizen with standing can make an objection to the hiring of a Foreign National so it will be interesting to see what position George McGrath and the “Anti-Sanctuary City” group takes.

I doubt that any SR Staff bothered to look into some of these very public and enlightening sources, so here you go.

https://www.bcombudsperson.ca/complaints/what-we-investigate

http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96340_01#

Mr. Humayun’s application for the exempt OPO position.

Resumes are Resumes, Applications are Applications, and always project a self-serving narrative. The interesting things I find in this application is that it gives the impression that Mr. Humayun has an extensive background in criminal case investigations with the RCMP, he really doesn’t, his experience is limited to “Forensic Biological Investigations” as a civilian RCMP employee, there is a big difference. You might also note that the application he signed for the exempt position does not include, as most government and non-government applications do, a section or box stating the applicant’s eligibility to work in the USA. That must have something to do with Spokane’s “Sanctuary City Policy”. I sincerely hope the background investigation of Mr. Humayun went well beyond the three references he lists and research into his personnel files at his employers were conducted.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/c2a9f4b7-2d95-4963-8eca-5d9bbe8c9537

Mr. Humayun’s work product.

It is difficult to locate examples of his work product through open sources, but I’m sure the OPOC has extensively reviewed Mr. Humayun’s work product. I was able to find this.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/abe8d5a1-734a-42e9-9b6e-e0bd75df7464

When all is said and done there is in all likelihood no chance that the Mayor or City Council will put a stop to this and force the OPOC to start over, because in the end it isn’t their money being wasted it is ours!

 

 

 

Think Rachael Dolezal.

 

Shawn Vestal who all along has been one of Frank Straub’s ardent supporters as he was with Rachael Dolezal, and as you can see still offers positive support for Mayor Condon without bothering to research the facts lays another egg today. 

The question is will there be another half arse mea culpa in his next column like there was when the truth about Rachael Dolezal was made public? This has to be embarrassing not only for Vestal but also the Spokesman Review.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/nov/03/a-second-term-for-spokane-mayor-david-condon-shoul/  

I’ve been told Vestal read these comments but just filed them away in the same file he put the truth about Dolezal in prior to writing the untrue article about her. 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/feb/13/shawn-vestal-spokane-statistics-on-crime-use-of/comments/ 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/feb/13/shawn-vestal-spokane-statistics-on-crime-use-of/

 

 

UPDATE! WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED THERE WOULD BE PROBLEMS WITH McDevitt?? 🙂

 

 

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/feb/12/mcdevitt-appointment-as-interim-spokane-police-lea/

_________________________________________

This Spokesman Review Story taken from a press release drew very little attention even though it is perhaps one of the most important issues facing Spokane, so here is some truth requiring media follow-up in the wake of revelations regarding Mayor Condon, Frank Straub, and the Spokane Police Department.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/oct/28/citizen-committee-formed-for-police-chief-search/

In order for this “citizen committee” to have any credibility there must be two very important changes made. James McDevitt and Jon Snyder must be removed not only because their agendas are self-serving, but also based upon their past performance when it comes to Spokane Police Department issues.

James McDevitt

James McDevitt and his wife Gretchen are very well-known in the Spokane Community as die-hard Republicans. There is nothing wrong with McDevitt’s political ideology unless it interferes with the interest of the Community as a whole and especially when it comes to picking a new police chief.

Jim McDevitt has been Mayor Condon’s go to person on law enforcement even prior to Condon taking office. Unfortunately McDevitt has no experience when it comes to running a police department and his appointed position as the local United States Attorney added very little. Jim McDevitt after he left office was awarded the position of Council to the Airport Board by the County Commission and City Council after he left the US Attorney’s office and indicated he did not want to go back into private practice. McDevitt was a member of Condon’s original transition team to help Condon with law enforcement issues, other members of Condon’s original law enforcement transition team abandoned him, for a number of reasons including the hiring of Frank Straub.

There are many things the general public is not aware of regarding McDevitt’s involvement in the hiring of Frank Straub. According to sources involved in the process McDevitt was responsible for doing some background on Straub which consisted of simply calling the appointed US Attorney in Indianapolis about Straub.

There are so many unanswered questions regarding McDevitt’s role in picking Frank Straub that have gone unanswered and make his participation on this committee unfathomable.

Just a few examples:

1) Frank Straub’s resume clearly points out that Frank Straub worked for, along with convicted felon Bernie Kerik, in Rudy Giuliani’s private consulting firm. Rudy Giuliani recommended Frank Straub for the jobs Straub he had in NYC, White Plains, and Indianapolis. So the obvious question is given Giuliani’s stature in the Republican Party was there a recommendation to both McDevitt and Condon by Rudy Giuliani to hire Frank Straub?

2) When Frank Straub went before the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission to obtain a Commission Waiver Jim McDevitt spoke in Straub’s behalf extolling what he considered Straub’s law enforcement virtues. Why did McDevitt who at the time was aware of Straub’s problems decide to take this action?

3) Jim McDevitt championed the hiring of his friend Selby Smith as an exempt SPD hire to lead all SPD investigations even though Smith’s investigative experience was limited to drugs. When Smith was head of the local DEA McDevitt was the appointed local US Attorney. McDevitt as US Attorney must have known the credibility issues Smith had as it related to some DEA cases including the one reported in this link.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/aug/19/drug-case-hinges-on-dubious-informer/

Yet, like he did for Straub, McDevitt went before the WSCJTC extolling Smith’s background and experience. The question again is why?

Just a few background links:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/sep/29/shawn-vestal-wisdom-on-straub-very-unwise/

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/aug/02/panel-urges-restarting-chief-search-mayor-declines/

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/jul/25/chief-finalist-withdraws/comments/

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/mar/17/chief-needs-citys-backing/

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/apr/17/board-clears-mcdevitt-of-conflict-of-interest/

Jon Snyder

I have documented time and again Jon Snyder’s inept oversight of SPD as Chairman of the Public Safety Committee so there is no sense in going into great detail in the interest of time and space. Jon Snyder’s political aspirations have continually been in the way of legitimate oversight. He along with other Council Members caved to the Guild Contract, Jon Snyder silenced Tim Connor during a PSC meeting when Connor was trying to point out Straub’s “untruthfulness” that has now become so very apparent. Jon Snyder continually took the word of every police administrator that came before the PSC without ever bothering to check the facts even though he was continually provided the facts.

Jim McDevitt and Jon Snyder based upon their history have NO BUSINESS on this “Committee” the committee has to be made up of individuals without agenda and without the stench of past mistakes that have greatly hurt this community.