Posted on 03/03/2006 11:26:18 AM PST by BullDog108
07:20 AM PST on Friday, March 3, 2006
SPOKANE - - Mayor Dennis Hession announced Thursday that an internal affairs investigation has been launched to look at how the Spokane Police Department handled an investigation into an incident at the Indian Trail fire station.
The top concern is why a City Police detective allowed a firefighter being invesitaged for involving in sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl to destroy digital photographs depicting the sexual activity. The firefighter told investigators he believed the girl was not a minor. According to Washington State Law: A person who knowingly develops...any visual or printed matter that depicts a minor engaged in an act of sexually explicit conduct; or is guilty of a class C felony punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.
It was originally reported that the female was 17, but it was announced today that she was, in fact, 16. Washington State Law lists anyone under the age of 18 as a minor.
“The City is committed to following due process and won’t make any comments or answer any questions that will compromise the rights of our employees or the ongoing investigations,” Mayor Hession said.
Acting Police Chief Jim Nicks said the deletion of the photos was not “best practices”, he says not being able to see the photos had no impact on the Prosecutor's office decision to not file criminal charges against the firefighter. But, it was not the decision of the Prosecutor to order the photos destroyed. That call was made by the supervisor of the investigating officer after determining there was no probable cause a crime had been committed. In a statment released Thursday afternoon, City officials said the pictures were deleted, by the firefighter under investigation, in order to protect the interests of the 16-year-old girl.
A Chief’s Review - an even higher level of internal investigation - will be conducted on the Police Department's role as part of the internal affairs investigation.
Indian Trail Fire Station, Spokane County
“With the completion of the Spokane Police Department’s investigation into the incident at the fire station, we felt it was important to get this information out to citizens,” said Mayor Hession. “We will ensure that all issues are investigated thoroughly.”
After the County Prosecutor's office determined there was no criminal activity, they declined to press criminal charges against the firefighter. Again, prosecutors say the firefighter did not know the girl was a minor. Fire Department administration and the City's Human Resources Department have launched an investigation into the incident.
By law, the City is required to provide any employee, in this case the firefighter, due process by providing the employee notice of any wrong doing and allowing them an opportunity to respond. Only then, can the City release the results of any investigation.
Other firefighters on duty at the fire station will be questioned. The firefighter remains on paid administrative leave.
This fireman and the police who deleted the photos of a minor having sex should all be tarred and feathered, then run out of town!
I've got to go to work now, will be back online this evening to answer any other posts.
If this was anybody but a cop or fireman the FBI would be undeleting the pictures right now.
Spokane also had a bunch of cops that would race their patrol cars thru the city on a daily basis. The administration did nothing about it until there was a bad accident. Then they claimed to know nothing about it dispite the years long history of complaints and video tapes of the street racing cop cars.
It does'nt happen often but Spokane and New Orleans need their police departments taken over by the feds for a decade or so. Fire everybody, let the good ones re-apply.
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