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Spokane Ombuds Commission votes to recommend 26 reforms from June 11 report
Summary
At the July 21 meeting commissioners voted to recommend all 26 OPO report recommendations addressing mission clarity, communication, force accountability, documentation and mutual-aid procedures; commissioners discussed pacing for implementation and follow-up reporting.
The Spokane Office of Police Ombuds Commission on July 21 voted to recommend all 26 recommendations from the OPO's closing report on the June 11 protest.
Commissioner (speaker 3) moved to approve all 26 recommendations; Commissioner (speaker 2) seconded the motion and the commission approved it by voice vote. Commissioners discussed giving the Spokane Police Department time to implement the recommendations: one commissioner noted the department would need months to work through all items, while others cautioned that urgent closing reports on other incidents should not be delayed.
The recommendations cover policy and operational changes intended to avoid future confusion in multi-agency events: an immigration-enforcement response protocol, documented mission statements and mission-change records, layered communications and standardized dispersal orders, an event-wide munitions log and reporting procedures linking force uses to body-worn camera evidence, medical/decontamination planning, mutual-aid briefings and visible agency identification, and consolidated after-action summaries the public can read.
During the vote discussion, Commissioner (speaker 2) said the commission should 'give the police department time' to work through the many recommendations. Staff said closing reports will be issued strategically when they can effect specific change.
The commission instructed staff to follow up with SPD on implementation priorities and to report back at future meetings. The approved recommendation package does not itself change department policy; it is a formal recommendation from the oversight commission to SPD.
