Police Ombuds office reports uptick in contacts, flags staffing and hiring delays; commission approves annual reports

The City of Spokane Office of the Police Ombuds Commission reviewed its March monthly report and a 2024 annual report at the commission’s April 15 meeting and approved both documents by consent.

Ombuds Bart Logue reported that March was busy: “We had 267 contacts,” he told commissioners, and said the office certified 11 cases and processed four community complaints in March. Logue said the office reviewed five uses of force, eight collisions and one pursuit among 14 special cases reviewed in the month.

Why it matters: The office’s monthly and annual statistics show increased oversight activity and higher workloads tied to lengthy case reviews. Logue told commissioners body-camera-heavy cases can require “10 to 12 hours of body camera footage per case sometimes,” increasing staff time to review incidents.

Staffing and hiring delays: Logue described delays filling two key positions. The deputy-ombuds hiring process requires a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the guild and city legal review; Logue said the MOU “is in city legal” and that he was not hopeful a new hire would be in place by June 30. The office is also seeking a non-exempt analyst position but must route the classification through civil service; Logue said civil-service placement was still pending and could delay hiring.

Logue said the office and commissioners were exploring contingency plans — including limited remote-work arrangements — because a vacancy could leave the ombuds office short-handed. He warned the commission that without a deputy “it’ll slow some things down” and that he could be performing both roles if a deputy was not in place.

Legal advisor and budget notes: Commissioners reviewed the office’s legal-advisor contract language and line-item funding. Logue explained that professional-services budgeting and timing in prior years led to fluctuating available funds; current documents show the professional-services line with an available amount that reflects recent two-year adjustments.

Annual-report details and recommendations: The annual report summarized 2024 activity: the office issued 12 monthly reports, one annual report, five closing reports and 21 recommendations; common themes included force analysis, supervisory review and training. Logue said the office had received formal responses for the first nine recommendations and informal updates for others but that several items remained “not implemented” as of the meeting.

Commission action: Commissioners approved the March monthly report and the 2024 annual report by consent. The meeting transcript records a motion and a second; the chair called for the ayes and the item carried.

Other business and next steps: Commissioners discussed a training day at the Spokane Police Department academy on April 18 and set a tentative two-day retreat for June 26–27 (day one full, day two a half day) with location to be confirmed; they scheduled the May meeting for May 20 at West Central Community Center. Logue said the office will continue pressing civil service and city legal to expedite classification and the deputy hiring process, and commissioners discussed potential roles they could play in outreach and evaluation once new staff are in place.

Provenance: Logue’s monthly report, the annual report presentation and the commission votes were presented during the April 15 meeting.