DRAFT REPORT OF THE CITY OF SPOKANE USE ... - Samuel Walker

City of Spokane Use of Force Commission December 20, 2012
matter and report to the Mayor on whether weapons standardization should be
implemented, and if not, then why not.
C. Citizen Oversight
Although this report is organized in a way that this section is set apart from the earlier
“Culture” section, this should not take away from the fact that citizen oversight can, and
should be, an incredibly positive force on the culture of a police department. Internally,
in the absence of appropriate citizen oversight it can be difficult for individual officers to
speak up in the face of peer pressure promoting a code of silence. Externally, a primary
value of citizen oversight is its ability to bring transparency to the work of a police
department, and thus, lessen distrust between the department and the citizens it serves.
Holistically, a police force that welcomes independent citizen oversight can use that
engagement as a feedback channel that leads to better insight into the department,
better training, better community relations, increased officer morale, and, ultimately, an
improved organizational culture.
Recommendation #20 – Invest the Office of the Police Ombudsman with the
authority and discretion to open and conduct independent investigations
concerning the operations, actions, or omissions of the SPD.
Investing the Office of the Police Ombudsman with the authority and discretion to
conduct independent investigations is essential to both establishing objective oversight
and building public trust. As a function of human nature, individuals who are part of a
group are more likely to favor the interests of the group over “outsiders.” In the context
of an investigation into a fellow group member’s alleged misconduct, the peer
investigator is apt to be more selective about the investigation’s scope and depth, and
may be inclined to avoid a transparent process. All of this behavior can compromise the
quality of the investigation and negatively impact the public’s trust in the process and
the institution. Conversely, the more independent the investigator, the more likely the
investigation will be perceived to be credible to those involved and to the general public.
The ability of the Office of the Police Ombudsman to open and conduct an investigation
should not be dependent on the receipt of a complaint from a member of the public.
While the expectation is that most of the office’s investigations would originate from
such a complaint, the Office of the Police Ombudsman should have the authority to
open an investigation when the Ombudsman has knowledge of evidence sufficient to
form a reasonable basis for the investigation – whatever the source of the knowledge.
City of Spokane Use of Force Commission – Page 25