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Citizens Asked For Input on Citizen Ombudsman Commission

The city administration will start the process of creating a police ombudsman commission this month. The commission will be made up of Spokane citizens, and its formation begins with two public hearings. The police ombudsman is tasked with reviewing police conduct and doing outreach with citizens. The commission will monitor the quality of the ombudsman’s work, and can request the ombudsman perform further investigations.

Spokane Mayor David Condon says the city wants feedback on the desired characteristics of commission members, the makeup of the commission, and application materials.

Condon: “We are aggressively pursuing the formation of the independent citizen police ombudsman commission, while being mindful to take the time to do it right. That includes gathering input from the community, we’re also meeting with those who serve the community so well on the use of force commission and the criminal justice commission…”

He has announced that city attorney Nancy Isserlis will oversee the public meetings. Condon says he and his administration thought it would be most effective if he stayed out of the meetings, since the goal of the commission is to be independent of the mayor’s office. The public is invited to give feedback at city hall Monday April 28th at noon, and Tuesday April 29th at 5:00pm.

Voters requested the commission in proposition one, from February, 2013. Condon says he expects commissioners will be seated in July.

Copyright 2014 Spokane Public Radio

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