The police reform discussion in Spokane is about to ramp up.
Spokane city officials on Thursday announced they’re ready to begin a community-wide dialogue on policing. They say that will include, at a minimum, the mayor and city council, police leadership and social justice advocates.
Council President Breean Beggs says city leaders have identified about two dozen principles on which they’ll focus the discussion.
“The challenge is to bring an urgency to it. I just think too many people who have suffered under a system that doesn’t work well for them for too long are just not willing to wait and hope that if we talk some more it will get better," Beggs said.
The city’s announcement comes one day after Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and the president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP announced an agreement. They’re planning a process to study racial disparities in arrests in the county. They plan to generate a report from tht and then develop a race equity strategic plan.