3/9/2022
Spokesman-Review
SHERIFF’S VIDEOS THE WRONG TACTIC FOR TACKLING CRIME
KHQ
KREM
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Spokesman-Review
SHERIFF’S VIDEOS THE WRONG TACTIC FOR TACKLING CRIME
By Lori Kinnear, Karen Stratton and Betsy Wilkerson
Sheriff Knezovich’s recent YouTube videos addressing shootings and crime in our communities and essentially casting blame at five City Council members, local legislators and certain African American civic leaders cannot go unanswered. As elected officials, Spokane City Council members are accustomed to criticisms and accusations. It is part of the job, and we respond to criticisms out of respect for our constituents. Yet this video goes beyond the usual hyperbole and accuses unelected leaders in our African American community of contributing to crime in our region. It contains untruths and misinformation that are derisive and offensive.
The uptick of criminal activity and shootings in both the city of Spokane and Spokane County is intolerable – we all can agree on that. Most of the elected officials in our region share the same desire to create a safe and nonviolent community for everyone. However, no one, elected or otherwise, can transform our community with divisive rhetoric, a narrative of discord and public intimidation. And yet that is what this video does.
In the video, the sheriff asks the question, “Why does council want to restrict resources?” Well, let us be very clear, the Spokane City Council has gone over and above supporting the Spokane Police Department. Anyone who believes the Spokane City Council is out to “defund the police” is gravely misinformed.
Supporting police reform is not the same as defunding the police. Sheriff Knezovich knows this and chooses to conflate the two. Members of the council support police reforms. Reforms do not happen without funding. Realizing this, the City Council adopted a 2022 budget that increased the Spokane Police Department operational budget by 6%.
Particularly troubling is the way this video singles out Councilmember Betsy Wilkerson. Accusing the sole African American councilmember of not supporting the police – without a shred of evidence – is unacceptable and treacherous in the wake of national civil discord rooted in racial tensions. It was grossly inappropriate and disrespectful.
Ideally, the Sheriff’s Office should be collaborating with the Spokane Police Department to address the nationwide spike in crime rates to whichthe Spokane region has not been immune. Why does Sheriff Knezovich blame regional crime spikes on select City Council members and our non-elected African American community leaders? The only answer seems to be that in the sunset of the sheriff’s career, this political grandstanding is a ploy for a greater hidden political agenda.
A better conversation is about what the City Council is doing to address crime in our community. Those of us on the council are aware of the problems and have addressed these issues with specific legislation to mitigate crime. All members of the City Council have advocated for behavioral health professionals to accompany officers downtown, have supported funding for a downtown precinct and have supported the public safety levy that passed with an overwhelming majority of votes. Councilmembers regularly work with neighborhood resource officers and our COPS program to connect citizens with law enforcement. We regularly meet with other elected officials, community members and other interest groups on these topics. That is the good news.
Unfortunately, the Spokane Regional Law and Justice Council recently removed city officials from its task force. Removing those voices, perspectives and ideas on how to correct community safety conveniently allows the sheriff to accuse our City Council members of not wanting to collaborate. Nothing could be further from the truth. Each councilmember’s phone numbers and email addresses are available, yet City Council members have not received formal invitations to collaborate.
There is an urgency to implement change. That change can only happen with productive dialogue rooted in respect and dignity for one another. If the last few years have revealed anything about civic discourse, we must transform how we communicate with one another and how we move our communities forward. Frankly, Sheriff Knezovich’s videos fall far short of that standard. Loir Kinnear, Karen Stratton and Betsy Wilkerson are members of the Spokane City Council. The views expressed herein are theirs, not necessarily those of the entire City Council.
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KHQ
SPOKANE, Wash. — Dozens of families in Spokane will soon be off the streets and living in a safe home thanks to new initiative through Catholic Charities and Gonzaga's subsidiaries. After two years in the making, it is finally set to open.
Beyond all the plywood and forklifts, as construction crews wrap up in the coming weeks, there will be a new home waiting for so many families.
"I think that you could say the face of homelessness is truly our families. We sometimes often associate homelessness with single individuals on the streets of downtown who are in camps, and that is a big problem in our community," Jonathan Mallahan, the Chief Housing Officer for Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington, said. "But the biggest problem is so many families are without a safe place to sleep tonight. They're sleeping in vans, their couch-surfing, and Gonzaga Family Haven is part of the solution to ending that problem in Spokane."
Gonzaga Family Haven is much more than merely a roof over the heads of 73 local families—there's 60,000 square feet of park grounds, a splash pad, a community garden, a pedestrian and bike trail, and an additional 20,000 square feet of community space.
"This is essentially housing combined with a community center and a park," Mallahan explained.
Through a partnership with Gonzaga University, Gonzaga Prep, and Head Start, there will also be early learning opportunities available for students.
"We're going to be providing before and after school activities for students. We're going to be helping them with their schoolwork, learning new things, providing activities, ways to engage in the community," he said.
Molly Ayers, the Assistant Dean for the Center for Community Engagement at Gonzaga, shared the vision they have for the community. "We see our students serving as mentors and tutors for you; staff and faculty and students helping offer classes for adults and families."
By becoming involved in helping the community, GU students will also be able to get real-world experience in different capacities.
"We have some nursing students; they're teaching yoga classes right now to families in the reflection center. In a way, it's as large as we envision. So our hope is to really be responsive to what residents and families need and see how the University can bring resources and partner students to help support and provide some of those amenities," she said. "This is meant to be their forever home, if they want it to be."
Catholic Charities will also provide its basic social support services, like counseling and case management.
"For us to truly solve tomorrow's homelessness, we have to start today," Mallahan stressed. "If we don't get upriver and help support people now, when their children and when families are experiencing trauma, we're not going to be able to meet the need 20 years from now when those individuals are on our streets and they need to access emergency housing."
So far about half of the units have been signed, but the rest are expected fill up by the grand opening, set March 30 at 11 a.m.
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KREM
The non-profit did say that high fuel costs leave less money for food purchasing.
SPOKANE, Wash. — According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Spokane Tuesday was just under $4.14.
With prices on the rise, the cost of filling up a large vehicle's gas tank can get expensive fast, but the trucks that deliver food for Second Harvest are still on the move.
The non-profit’s fleet is feeling the high prices at the pump like everyone else.
"We're not big enough to have a bulk rate. So, like everybody else, we're going to the gas pumps, and yeah, the prices are higher," said Eric William, Community Partnerships Director for Second Harvest.
Second Harvest uses nine trucks, including five tractor-trailers and two mobile market trucks, to get food to communities in need. Williams said Second Harvest distributed more than 52 million pounds of food as the pandemic began in 2020. Last year, the non-profit gave out a little less than 40 million pounds of food.
Even with the increasing costs of fueling their trucks, Second Harvest isn’t slowing down.
"We always figure out a way and we focus really hard on those distant rural areas, because those are some of the places that are the most in need," Williams said. "If we have to pay a little bit more for fuel to get to Republic or to Paterson or somewhere else out in the rural areas, we're going to do it.”
Luckily, Williams said fuel costs haven’t had too much of an impact on Second Harvest just yet, but that could change if prices don’t drop in the coming weeks.
"When fuel prices go up, whether it's gas or diesel, that really affects us. The more money that we spend on fuel is less money that we have to go out and buy food," he said.
While Second Harvest gets a lot of donations from farmers, grocery stores and even private citizens, Williams said the money is needed to buy certain foods that the non-profit doesn’t normally receive from outside sources. He also said Second Harvest is thankful for all of the donations they have received, and while they have thousands of volunteers, they will always take more help.
"Gonzaga Family Haven will make a dent in the need, but it doesn't meet the need," Mallahan warned. "We need to build more housing. We need to have housing for people at all ends of the economic spectrum here, and Gonzaga Family Haven is a part of that."
The victim has been identified as 28-year-old Ammar Johnson.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane police are looking for the gunman wanted in connection to a deadly drive-by shooting on the lower South Hill on March 2.
One person was killed in the shooting. The gunman has not been found.
The victim of the shooting has been identified as 28-year-old Ammar Johnson, as reported by the Spokane County Medical Examiner.
The shooting happened around 5:15 a.m. near W 7th Avenue and S Jefferson Street. Spokane police say the person was shot at an apartment complex and found inside one of the units. There are no other victims.
Investigators do not believe this was a random shooting and there does not appear to be an ongoing threat to the public.
While there is not currently much known about the incident, KREM 2 spoke with witnesses at the scene of the shooting.
Jenny Love heard the commotion on Wednesday morning and recorded a video of the crime scene from her appointment shortly after police arrived on the scene.
"I peeked out my window, thinking I would hear someone yelling or screaming," she recalled. "I kind of looked around. I didn't see anyone. I didn't see any cars drive by or anyone come running through."
Love said incidents like this one worry her because just a few weeks ago, another man was shot in the same area.
In mid-January, Spokane police arrested Gary Cottrill for assault. Neighbors suspected him of damaging cars and slashing tires. One night a victim of this damage confronted him. Cottrill was armed with a gun and allegedly shot him.
"It's a little scary, especially since it only happened a couple of weeks ago that someone else was shot just around the corner from me as well," Love said. "I'm gonna be a little bit more aware of what's going on around me when I get home and when I leave home."
Police have not released any more details about the shooting or a description of the suspect or vehicle involved.
Police blocked off several streets in the area while they investigated and looked for the shooter and vehicle that may have been involved in the shooting.