10/6/2022
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The Spokesman-Review
Man suspected of shooting toward Camp Hope
KREM
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The Spokesman-Review
Man suspected of shooting toward Camp Hope
Police say 24-year-old fired weapon in search for woman he alleges stole from him
By Quinn Welsch
THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
A man was arrested after a drive-by shooting that targeted the East Central homeless encampment known as Camp Hope before dawn Wednesday, the camp’s managers said.
Police arrested 24-year-old James W. Rackliff in connection with the shooting on Wednesday. Rackliff was booked into the Spokane County Jail on two counts of drive-by shooting.
No one was hurt in the shooting, which occurred between 3 and 4a.m., camp manager Maurice Smith said. Camp security reported 10 to 15 shots, although that information was not confirmed by Spokane police.
Rackliff is believed to have provided a ride to a woman living at the camp but suspected that she stole something from him and attempted to find her, the Spokane Police Department said in a release. While searching for her, “he discharged a firearm from his vehicle multiple times.”
Smith said that the grievance did not take place at the camp.
“No alleged grievance justifies this type of response or behavior. Period,” he wrote in a statement. “We’re a better community than this.”
Camp security identified the suspect’s vehicle and gave the license plate number to Spokane police, who located and arrested Rackliff on the South Hill on the 3300 block of South Southeast Boulevard about an hour after the incident, the department said in a release.
Spokane police officers served a search warrant at Rackliff’s residence and recovered multiple firearms, the department said.
Smith said that the camp’s recently erected fence “did exactly what it was designed and intended to do” by preventing the suspected shooter from driving or walking into the camp from any angle.
“From my perspective as camp manager, it could have been a lot worse,” he said.
The camp has been targeted in the past with pellet guns, which have hit some of the camp’s residents, he said, but the shooting on Wednesday “raises this type of behavior to a completely different level. Being homeless and living in a homeless camp should not make anyone a target for this type of criminal behavior.”
Smith said he has had to ask people who are armed to leave their firearms outside of the camp. In one instance, a person showed up with a GoPro camera and a handgun looking for stolen property, which was later recovered in a Walmart parking lot, he said.
Smith said criminal activity does occur in the camp, and residents who engage in it are asked to leave. When it’s “serious enough,” camp management will call the police, but “law enforcement has been very reluctant to engage with us,” Smith said.
Police are continuing to investigate the target of the shooting and the nature of the grievance between Rackliff and the woman.
Quinn Welsch can be reached at (509) 459-5469 or by email at quinnw@ spokesman. com.
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KREM
Commissioners approved the action in support of Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich's determination to clear the camp.
SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The Spokane County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution authorizing the prosecutor's office to file a lawsuit against the Washington Department of Transportation regarding the homeless camp off I-90 and Freya.
With this resolution, the prosecutor's office is authorized to file suit "for the abatement of nuisance conditions and injunctive relief against the owner of real property, the Washington Department of Transportation, within Spokane County."
According to a press release from Spokane County, commissioners approved the action in support of Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich's determination to clear the encampment and to ensure that interested parties appear before a county superior court judge regarding the impacts the encampment is having on the community.
Wednesday, commissioner Josh Kerns explained why the board approved the resolution. He said the state is responsible for the growth of the camp.
"Folks at the state have tried to say that local government is more concerned about optics and action," Kerns said. "This is action. This is leadership that we're taking. There are a number of folks, not only at the camp, but the surrounding areas that have essentially been abandoned by by the leadership of the state. We're coming in, we're gonna fix a problem that quite frankly, the state has let get completely out of hand."
City spokesperson Brian Coddington said the city and county are aligned in its goals to establish a timeline and set of expectations for the camp.
"The city shares the same interests as the county," Coddington said.
Coddington said while the goals are the same, the process of getting there are separate between the city and county.
“This is the county's process, and they're going through their county prosecutor's office to initiate the nuisance process, potentially. The city could play a role in the county's process, but the city does have its own separate process," Coddington said. "We issued a pre-nuisance letter a month ago to the state outlining some of the very similar terms and conditions. And that's what where we're at now with the conversation with the state.”
In September, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich wrote a letter to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) stating he plans to clear out the homeless camp near I-90 by mid-October. The Sheriff later pushed back the deadline to Nov. 10, which he said was a request of Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward.
Earlier this year, the Washington State Department of Commerce funded the Empire Health Foundation with $500,000 to aid in the first steps to clear out the camp. Despite this, Knezovich continued to accuse WSDOT, Commerce and the state of inaction as well as "possible corruption" for misuse of public funds.
Executive Director of Jewels Helping Hands Julie Garcia said she hopes the county does more to address the homeless crisis, instead of leaning on city services.