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

Mr. Earl F. Martin
RE: REPORT TO USE OF FORCE COMMISSION
December 3, 2012
Page 13
In preparing the legal updates, Sgt. Hendren uses cases reviewed by the State of Washington
Attorney General's Office and asks the Assistant City Attorney Muramatsu to review the cases and
his proposed updates. Updates are provided to SPD personnel through in-service training and
training bulletins. The in-service training legal update is typically a 1-2 hour class conducted
annually. The training bulletins are prepared by Sgt. Hendren and sent to the Assistant City Attorney
for review and revision, and then Sgt. Hendren sends the proposed bulletin to the Training Academy
Lieutenant, who sends it to the Command Staff. Once it is approved the training bulletin will be
sent out to all personnel. Both the contents of the in-service training and the training bulletins are
based on cases that Sgt. Hendren has identified by reviewing online sources including the Law
Enforcement Digest, case law updates on the CJTC site, Washington State Attorney General's Office
Opinions and case law that the Legal Advisor has identified. Sgt. Hendren indicated that he is
probably accessing the website monthly based on his availability and other job duties and
responsibilities. His review of case law does not include federal case law decisions unless a case is
cited in the sources listed above or provided by the Legal Advisor.
It is clear that Sgt. Hendren's service in this area to SPD is extremely valuable and that he has
taken on a great deal of responsibility in addition to his duties as Assistant SWAT Commander and
Detective Sergeant in SIU. During my discussions with other members of the agency, my review
of instructional materials and my review of SPD policy in the various packets that were presented,
it became apparent that a concern existed with regard to the understanding and familiarity with recent
case law decisions relating to the use of force. Sgt. Hendren agreed that the nature and scope of his
responsibilities in this area may need clarification. Likewise, the role and responsibilities of the
Legal Advisor to the SPD with regard to legal update type of concerns should probably be clarified
in detail. Sgt. Hendren also mentioned that the Law Enforcement Legal Digest used to be printed
out and distributed to personnel, with supervisors discussing it at briefing. That practice was
discontinued and officers are encouraged to access it on the internet. Sgt. Hendren is unsure how
likely it is that officers are motivated to do such review and analysis on their own initiative. Clearly,
Sgt. Hendren is to be commended for the excellent service he has provided to SPD in this regard.
The issue of legal updates and policy revisions, in particular with regard to high-risk areas such as
use of force, needs to be addressed in a more uniform and systematic fashion. This issue should be
coordinated with the City Attorney's Office and the use of force SMEs for SPD should be kept in the
information loop in a timely manner.
Finally, with regard to use of force training in general, SPD has a use of force report writing
training program that is exceptional. The program was created by Sgt. Kevin King and Officer
Shawn Kendall and includes a lecture reviewing law and policy, and video of incidents used to train
officers in the critical components of use of force report writing thru practical report writing
exercises. The program is well thought out and provides practical experience and testing of this
critical skill; however, the program suffers the same legal update needs discussed above. The