SPOKANE, Wash. — On March 20th, representatives from the Spokane Community Against Racism or SCAR released a scathing letter signed by 21 community organizations condemning Police Chief Craig Meidl and asking for his resignation.
The call for his removal comes after the city's police ombudsman released the findings of their investigation that show hundreds of emails exchanged between Chief Meidl and members of the Spokane Business and Commercial Property Owners Council. Jac Archer with SCAR Spokane has read through the report and has several concerns.
"Things that concerned us were firstly what we believe to be a somewhat inappropriate prioritization of police services to different parts of the community," Archer said. "We've seen, according to these emails, that the Spokane Police Department has been actively de-prioritizing calls in certain parts of the city and to certain spaces while providing a higher and better level of service to people that the chief is politically aligned with."
"About a year and a half, maybe two years ago with a council called the Spokane Property Owners and Business Council, and they were getting very, very frustrated and afraid and worried about things that were occurring downtown," Meidl said. "So, we had businesses that were closing shop and they were leaving downtown and we were being told, if not daily, at least weekly, that their employees are afraid to come to work."
Meidl went on to say that the police department received many complaints from visitors downtown that they "are constantly having to step over people that were shooting up or smoking fentanyl on foil.
"In this group from the Spokane Property Owners and Business Association, which I'm told was about 400 strong, wanted to try to work with the police department to create a safer downtown. And so their their request of us was 'what can we do?'"
"I'm working with them and explain to them, 'Here's what the hurdles are for us,'" Meidl continued. "And that's really what this boils down to, is providing them information from our perspective of tools and things that we need to create that safer downtown. It's important. I need to point out as well, though, it's important too for me to point out that we have done this for many organizations."
The investigation shows Chief Meidl released numerous reports to members of this group, including data on the shoplifting increase around the city, a transient crime map and on the city council's response to de-funding police.
"There is nothing released that would violate any kind of privacy laws," Meidl said. "No names, dates of birth, phone numbers and things that I'll give you an example of things that we would share with them that we didn't necessarily want out right then and there."
"All public servants have relationships with their constituents that is natural and absolutely necessary to do their job?" Archer said. "What is unnatural? What is unfair, is the fact that we know for, from these emails, and from statistics and reports that we've heard across the community, that while he's offering what has been characterized as the highest level of community policing, to specific business interests, he's also or rather, the department as a whole is also refusing to answer calls to certain parts of town to homeless shelters, is refusing to offer that same level of service to any other person who calls."
"I would commend a police chief having close relationships with community members across the board in an equal and service-oriented manner," Archer said. "This is not that."
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