Ombudsman presents closing report on June 11 protest, issues 26 recommendations for SPD

Bart Loke, the city's ombudsman, presented a closing report to the Spokane City Council study session on the police response to the June 11, 2025 protest near the Federal Immigration Office on Cataldo Avenue. The report, which the ombudsman described as "the largest and most difficult closing report" his office has undertaken, documents that the event "had 30 arrests and several uses of force."

The report does not assign blame or determine criminal charges — the OPO's jurisdiction and collective-bargaining constraints limit those findings — but it identifies recurring themes across 24 complainants and offers 26 recommendations grouped into five categories: mission and command clarity; communications, dispersal and medical care; documentation and review; venues, mutual aid and property procedures; and training including UAS safeguards. Bart said the recommendations are intended to "make the next response safer, clearer, easier to review, and more worthy of public trust."

The ombudsman emphasized the distinction between an internal legal analysis and public perception, noting SPD's view that command initially exercised legal caution and later identified a distinct local public-safety mission. The report recommends formal protocols for immigration-related requests, standardized dispersal messaging, an event-level documentation team and a single, searchable munitions and use-of-force log to connect approvals, body-worn camera footage, injuries and review.