Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Spokane ombuds commission recommends treating intentional vehicle strikes as deadly force
Summary
The Spokane Police Ombuds Commission voted Feb. 17, 2026, to recommend that Seattle Police Department policy classify intentional vehicle-to-person contact (including attempted contact) as deadly force and to operationalize that definition across pursuit and collision-review policies following a July 20, 2025 use-of-force case.
The Spokane Police Ombuds Commission voted Feb. 17 to recommend that Spokane Police Department policy treat intentional vehicle-to-person contact — including attempted contact to pin or block a pedestrian — as deadly force.
The recommendation grew out of a closing report on a July 20, 2025 domestic-violence and pursuit incident in which officers used vehicles to try to pin a suspect, deployed tasers twice and pointed firearms. Bart Logue of the Office of Police Ombudsman summarized the case and the office's conclusions, saying the incident exposed a policy classification gap.
"So as such, this report recommends, defining intentional vehicle to person contact, including, an attempted contact as deadly force of…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
