Ombuds office reports surge in contacts, several officer-involved shootings and review-board changes

The Spokane Office of Police Ombudsman reported Feb. 18 that its office handled an unusually high volume of work over the last month, including multiple officer-involved shootings and a larger-than-normal number of complaints and interviews.

Ombudsman Bart Logue told commissioners the office received about 228 contacts and conducted 24 OPO interviews during the period, roughly double their typical monthly interview load. He said the office recorded about 70 P.O.-generated complaints in the month compared with 44 total for the prior year, certified eight cases for investigation, and conducted numerous internal affairs interviews and special-case reviews.

Logue said one certified case involved a high-profile pursuit that ended in a crash involving an armored vehicle (a Bearcat) that injured Spokane Police Department officers; the office spent substantial time reviewing that matter. He also reported three officer-involved shootings since December,…