U.S. Attorney to recommend independent party
Brian Coddington, Communications Director, 509.625.6740
Friday, December 4, 2015 at 4:27 p.m.
Spokane Mayor David Condon and City Council President Ben Stuckart announced today that they have jointly asked the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington to recommend an independent evaluator to conduct an inquiry into the process, policy and timelines associated with recent Spokane Police Division personnel movement and release of public records. This inquiry will also include an evaluation of the processes for all employee complaints and investigations.
“The Council President and I agree that we need the lens of an independent inquiry to determine if mistakes were made and, if so, how we correct them,” Condon said. “We also agree that we need to learn from this to make sure employees are treated fairly and appropriately.”
“Council is looking forward to an independent inquiry,” Stuckart said. “We want to continue to move our city forward and provide our employees a safe environment in which to work.”
Condon and Stuckart will jointly select the independent evaluator from among those recommended by the U.S. Attorney. The scope of the work will focus on the process, policy, and timelines as requested in the City Council letter on Nov. 30. A joint coordination team comprised of two designees each from the Mayor’s Office and the City Council will serve as liaisons to the independent reviewer, help refine the scope of the inquiry, and jointly provide any future public updates. Complaints filed with the citizen Ethics Commission will be handled through the normal process.
Progress reports will be provided to Condon and City Council periodically. Both the Mayor’s Office and the City Council will also receive a final report. The inquiry will be conducted as quickly as possible so that we can expeditiously update policies and procedures as necessary, although a timeline has not been established.
This joint process will be conducted in place of the work of retired federal Judge Michael Hogan.
