June 24, 2020
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich
1100 W Mallon Avenue
Spokane, WA 99260
Dear Sheriff Knezovich:
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, demand you cancel the October training you organized for Spokane County deputies, “Mindset Bootcamp,” by so-called “Killology researcher,” Dave Grossman and Dave Smith. Further, we demand you cancel any planned “community summit” with Grossman or Smith in Spokane. Instead, we call on you and your department to participate in a community listening session with Spokane County Black, Indigenous, and communities of color about the mental health impacts of policing on these communities.
After the nation watched the horrific killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers on May 25, a spotlight was shown on police brutality against Black, brown, and Indigenous people. Our community learned the names of other Black people who died senselessly at the hands of law enforcement officers across the country, people like Breonna Taylor, who was shot at least eight times while sleeping in her own bed by Louisville, Kentucky police executing a bogus no-knock warrant for a suspect already in custody.[1] We remembered the names of Black, Indigenous, and community members of color killed by law enforcement in Washington State and Spokane County—Joshua Spotted Horse, Eagle Michael, Clando Anitok, Manuel Ellis, Che Taylor, Renee Davis, Bennie Branch, Stonechild Chiefstick, and too many more.[2],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7] And in response, on May 31, thousands of people marched through downtown Spokane to protest police brutality against Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Protests have continued each week since.
Further, as you are no doubt aware, Initiative 940 was approved by voters in November 2018. The second section of Initiative 940 clearly explains the reason the people exercised their Washington State Constitutional right to create legislation: “The intent of the people in enacting this act is to make our communities safer. This is accomplished by requiring law enforcement officers to obtain violence de-escalation and mental health training, so that officers will have greater skills to resolve conflicts without the use of physical or deadly force.”[8]
After Initiative 940 and 2019’s related House Bill 1064 became law, the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission convened a large and diverse group of stakeholders to engage in negotiated rulemaking. These groups included law enforcement organizations such as Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs, Washington State Fraternal Order of Police, and Black Law Enforcement Association of Washington.
During this painstaking process, communities across Washington, including Spokane, were invited for nearly six months to provide comments and input about the new training rules at in-person community forums around the state, as well as by email, U.S. mail, and online input forms. Stakeholders tackled this input and worked on multiple drafts of rules for these new de-escalation and mental health training requirements. The Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission adopted the final rules on de-escalation training in June 2019. [9]
Finally, Sheriff, the community has spoken very recently through petitions directed at you,[10] and an editorial in the Spokesman Review, calling for you to cancel the “Mindset Bootcamp” training and planned “summit” that includes Grossman. The communities most heavily impacted by policing—Black and Indigenous[11]— have clearly and consistently spoken about the changes needed in local law enforcement. Yet, your insistence on continuing with this training indicates you have not listened. We do not need to attend a sales pitch by Grossman to know what he is offering. We understand from his own words on his website,[12] myriad videos of his presentations easily found online, and his many publications, his pseudoscientific, militaristic perspective, and we reject it.
Now it is time for you to listen to the perspectives of the communities you police and serve, and the impact of that policing on our communities’ health. While the tragic and needless deaths of Black, Indigenous and people of color at the hands of law enforcement have been weighing heavily on our minds, nonfatal encounters with law enforcement officers also have negative impacts on the mental health of those community members.[13] We invite you and the sheriff’s deputies to come and hear from those you serve in the community at a listening session.
Sincerely,
Angelique P Sam
Carmen Pacheco Jones
Rickey “Deekon” Jones
Organizers of both the “Killology Kills Black People: Ban the
Training in Spokane County” petition
that has gained over 2,800 signatures and this letter signed by the following 69
organizations and 372 individuals
Organizations
Michele Storms
ACLU of Washington
Megan Pirie
All of Us or None
Sima Thorpe
The Arc of Spokane
Stacy Dym
The Arc of Washington State
Pui-Yan Lam & Rowena Pineda
Asian Pacific Islander Coalition – Spokane Chapter
Angel Tomeo Sam
The Bail Project
Dustin Jolly
Believe Change
Jason Gillmer
Center for Civil and Human Rights at Gonzaga Law School
Leah Velasco
Center for Independence
Antonio Ginatta
Columbia Legal Services
Hallie Burchinal
Compassionate Addiction Treatment
Lauren Goldbloom
Common Well
Mark Leeper
Disability Action Center – NW, Inc.
Mark Stroh
Disability Rights Washington
Mokeph Wildflower
Divine Shine Healing Center
Sarahi Gutierrez
EWU P.O.W.E.R.S.
Aurora Martin
Front and Centered
Jim Dawson
Fuse Washington
Anne Martin
Greater Spokane Progress
Sabrina Ryan-Helton
GROUND 5ZERO9
Layne Pavey
I Did the Time
Linda Inagawa
IFJC – International Families Justice Coalition
Janice Miller Krummel
Inland Northwest Business Alliance
Greg Gardner
Interaction Transition
Julie Garcia
Jewels Helping Hands
Michelle Su
Korean American Bar Association of Washington
Lilliane Ballesteros
Latino Community Fund of WA State
Kelly Vomacka
Law Office of Kelly Vomacka
Erin Lovell
Legal Counsel for Youth and Children
Lisa M. Stone
Legal Voice
Alicia Levy
Levy Law Firm, PLLC
Carmen Pacheco Jones
Living with Conviction
Joshua P. Maurer
Maurer law
Jerri Clark
MOMI–Mothers of the Mentally Ill
Naghmana Sherazi
Muslims for Community, Action and Support
Sherry Palmer
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Lewis County
Hadley Morrow
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Spokane
Lauren B. Simonds
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAIMI) of Washington State
Natasha Hill
Natasha L. Hill, P.S.
Marley Hochendoner
Northwest Fair Housing Alliance
Janet Varon
Northwest Health Law Advocates
Jorge L. Baron
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Kathy Jensen
Northwest Justice Project
Robert Hervatine
Northwest Justice Project, Spokane Office
Lisa Robbe
Office of Developmental Disabilities Ombuds
Rich Stolz
OneAmerica
Tracy Kahlo
PAVE: Partnerships for Action, Voices for Empowerment
Shar Lichty and Liz Moore
Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane (PJALS)
Taylor G Buck
Post-Prison Education Program
Ari Kohn
Post-Prison Education Program
Joshua Treybig
QLaw Bar Association of Washington
Denise Diskin
QLaw Foundation of Spokane
Marijke Fakasiieiki
Refugee Connections Spokane
Curtis Hampton
SCAR (Spokane Community Against Racism)
Ivanova Smith
Self Advocates in Leadership (SAIL)
SEIU Healthcare 1199NW
Katie Horvath
Spectrum
Kurtis Robinson
Spokane NAACP #1137
Tamara C. Murray
Tamara C. Murray, Attorney at Law
Rosemarie Thurman
TeamChild
Nathan R. Page
The Porch
William Aal
Tools For Change
Edie A. Rice-Sauer
Transitions
Antoinette Preciado-Lacambra
United Peers of Washington
Jeremy Norden-Paul
Washington State Developmental Disabilities Council
Patricia L. Hunter
Washington State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program
James A. Bamberger
Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid
Jess Frank
Yoga Behind
Bars
Individuals
A. Suzie Henning
Adare Mahan
Adrianne Nedeau
Alco Canfield
Alex Bergstrom
Alexandra Lynn Shook-Shoup
Alexandra Panagotacos
Alexis G. Cox
Alexis Tanphantourath-Jordan
Alicia Santoro
Alissa N. Baier
Allen W. Ratcliffe
Allison Rhoades
Aly DeHay
Alycia Delmore
Amanda Burns
Amanda Forsman
Amanda Miller
Amanda R. Oropeza
Amanda Robinson
Amelia VanMeter
Ami Manning
Amy McColm
Andrea Crumpler
Andrea Farley
Andrea K Matters
Andrea Utigard
Andrew Biviano
Andrew Pickard
Angel R. Moore
Angela M Watson
Ann M. Murphy
Anne S Whigham
Annemarie Frohnhoefer
Annie Benson
Anthony Noyes
Antoinette Bonsignore
Anwar Peace
AutumnRose Maurer
Becky Rempe
Ben Cabildo
Ben Read
Benjamin Bagley
Bill Osborne
Billie Fisher
Blair Murphy
Bob Dange
Brandon Adams
Brandon Poepping
Brendan W Donckers
Brett Werenski
Brian G. Henning
Brianna Dirks
Brianna Rollins
Britta Hawkins
Brooke Rogers
Caitlyn Hinojosa
Camesha Little
Cara Longinotti
Cara Schroeder
Carmen Pacheco Jones
Carol Godwin
Carolyn M. Holmes
Carolyn Scott
Charles Lassiter
Charlie Johansen
Charlotte Keenan
Cheri Nelson
Cherylynne Crowther
Cheyenne Smith
Chris Sheller
Christa Lenssen
Claire Rudolf Murphy
Coleen Ohm
Colin Naake
Conrad Reynoldson
Courtney Chappell
Courtney S Lehman
Cristine Vallone
Curtis Hampton
Cynthia Manycolors
D’Adre Cunningham
Dalin Tipton
Dan Ophardt
Dana Oxford
Daniel Rey-Bear
Danielle Anderson
Danielle Caldwell
David Carlson
Deborah French
Debra Janison
Debra Park
Denisse Guerrero
Derrick Moyer
Devan Holmes
Devin F.P. Biviano
Diana Stewart
diane de rooij
Don Adair
Donna Hammar
Donna Larsen-Limric
Douglas Hyldahl
Edmundo M. Aguilar
elijah markovic
Elizabeth Jimenez
Elizabeth Roderick
Ellen Maccarone
Ellen Martin
Emerald Fitzpatrick
Emily Badgley
Emma Almquist
Emma Lasko
Eric Matthes
Eric Warwick
Erin Rose Medina
Eryn Wuesthoff
Fay Baptiste
Felicia Reilly
Felisa Gonzalez
Fernanda Mazcot
G Woody Garvin
Gayle Hammersley
Genevieve Mann Morris
Greg Szabo
Guin Sloan
Hadley Morrow
Hallie Burchinal
Hannah Dean
Hannah Myrick
Harry Gasnick
Heather McGregor
Heather McKimmie
Heather Meares
Heidi Carlson
Heidi Wangelin
Houston Eymann
Hunter Badgley
Isabelle Edwards
Isobel Gooch
Ivan Joyce
J. Parker Mason
Jac Archer
Jai’Lysa Hoskins
Jane Boman
Jane Mark
Janice Miller Krummel
Jasmine Pacheco
Jason Green
Jeff Workman
Jennifer Brown
Jennifer Hughes
Jennifer Ralston
Jennifer S.
Jennyfer Mesa
Jeremiah E Miller
Jeremy Broadbent
Jeremy Whittington
Jerilee Stone
Jessica Brown
Jessica Gibson
Jessica Jones
Jessica Melear Lucht
Jessica Simanton
Jill Ellison
Jill Kong
Joann Peña
Jodi Rose
John G. Ziegler
John McFarland
john zielinski
Jonelle Gallaway
Jordan Stello
Joseph Sampson
Josephine Keefe
Joshua Simmons
Joy Fradin
Joyce J. McCown
Judy A Palamidex
Julia Larsen
Julianne Jett
Julie Chung
Julie Garcia
Kady Cullen
Karen Boone
Karen Byrne
Kari Reardon
Kate Burke
Katherine Karr-Cornejo
Katherine Larabee
Kathryn Cronin
Kathryn E McClintock
Kathy Au
Kathy Lang
Kathy McFaul
Katie Longinotti
Katy Sheehan
Kayla Tuning
Keara Rypien
Kerrina Williams
Kevin C. O’Connor
Kevin Curtis
Khay Zellner
Kimberly Sloan
Kitty Klitzke
Kristi Wold
Kristin Hahnlen
Krystal Monteros
Kyle Peirson
Lacrecia Hill
Lanisha Jackson
Lannie Macandrea
Lareesa Holford
Larry A Weiser
Larry Valadez
Laura Kalmwood
Laura Pierce
Lauren Goldbloom
Laurie Sundstrom
Layne Pavey, LICSW
Leann Ledford
Lee McCormick
Lenell Nussbaum
Leslie Cushman
Liat Kriegel
Lillian Ripley
Linda Lane
Linda Williams
Lindsey Hedin
Lora Mason
Luke Tolley
Lynette Y Romero
M Kikikis
Madison Moreno
Magdalene Bolden
Mara Grubb
Marci Carpenter
Maria Howard
Mariah McKay
Marie Barnett
Mark Capka
Mark Odegard
Marla Zink
Marsha Valenzuela
Mary Farrell
Mary Frankhauser
Mary Gibson
Mary Griffin
Mary Lou Johnson
Mary Pat Treuthart
Mary Perkins
MaryAnn Bosky
Matt Slotemaker
Matthew Wolf
Max Delsid
McKenzie Ballo
Megan Chandler
Megan McCabe
Megan Pirie
Meghan Apshaga
Mercy Aguilar
Michael Bernal
Michael Koretz
Michael P Dague
Michaela Jones
Michaela Kelso
Michelle Conley
Miguel Bernal
Mimi McClellan
Michael McDonell
Miranda Jack
Mokeph Wildflower
Molly Brashear
Msry knight
Nadine Bertman
Neva Davies
Nickeia Hunter
Nicole Adamson-Wood
Nicole Bishop
Nicole Burrow
Nicole Langevin
Nicole Murphy
Nicole Palczewski
Nicole Willms
Nichole Gibson
Noahloni Garcia
Norah Willett
Olivette Orme
Patricia Pickard
Paul Dillon
Peggy Hotes
Penny Achten
Penny Larsen
Pia Longinotti
Ping Ping
R Hat
Rachel Barrett
Rachel Dorfman
Rachel Spencer
Randall Fichte
Ray Rast
Rebecca MacMullan
Regina Malveaux
Rev. Arlen Farley
Rev. Jonathan Myers
Rev. Jane Nelson-Low
Rev. Katy Shedlock
Rev. Kimberly Meinecke
Rev. Kristi Philip
Rev. Mary L Ayers
Rev. Rick Matters
Richard Bocook
Richard Callahan
Rick Eichstaedt
Rinzen Shay Kruger
Robert Blumenfeld
Robert Carroll
Robert Murphy
Robin Lehman
Robyn G. Martin
Robyn Urhausen
roopali d.
Rosa Rice-Pelepko
Rose Mary Harris
Ross Carper
Ryan Grant
Ryan Jacobson
Ryan Nabors
Ryann Louie
Sabrina Ryan-Helton
Samantha Werme
Sandra Moore
Sara Greenwald
Sarah Beza
Sarah Johnson
Sarah Knudsen
Sarah Nowak
Sarah Tatistcheff
Sarah Tunnell
Saria Sappho
Saundra Moy
Sean Dong
Sean Petersen
Sean Powers
Shannon Birchler
Shantell Jackson
Sharlyn Hidalgo
Sharon Smith
Sharyl Brown
Sheila Northrop
Sophia Herrmann
Stacie Siebrecht
Stefani Rossi
Steohanie j passmore
Stephanie Ullah
Steven Clark
Steven Herevia
Susan Goertz
Susan K Wilson
Suzanne Cook
Sydney Posey
Taylar
Taylor Weech
Teko Dumoulin
Theodore L. Carroll
Timothy P. Hamm
Timothy Weidel
Todd Kehne
Toni Lodge
Tracey Waring
Victoria Hester
Will Neville
Z. Romero Becker
[1] Tessa Duval, Louisville Police Release the Breonna Taylor Incident Report. It’s Virtually Blank, Courier Journal (June 10, 2020), https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2020/06/10/breonna-taylor-shooting-louisville-police-release-incident-report/5332915002/.
[2] Mitch Ryals, Spokane Police Shot More People in 2017 Than They Have in Decades; Almost Half Were Native, Inlander (April 12, 2018), https://www.inlander.com/spokane/spokane-police-shot-more-people-in-2017-than-they-have-in-decades-almost-half-were-native-american/Content?oid=9274283.
[3] Emma Epperly, Man Killed, Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy Who Shot Him Identified, The Spokesman-Review (Jan. 14, 2020), https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jan/14/man-killed-by-spokane-county-sheriffs-deputy-durin/.
[4] Hallie Golden, Manuel Ellis Killing: Mayor Calls for Firing of Officers Involved in Death of Black Man, The Guardian (June 5, 2020), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/05/manuel-ellis-death-police-firing-mayor-victoria-woodards.
[5] Woman Dies in Deputy-Involved Shooting near Auburn, KIRO7 News (Oct. 21, 2016), https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/deputies-office-involved-shooting-near-auburn/459568142/.
[6] Michael Spears, Family: Man Shot in the Back, Killed by Tacoma Officer While Running Away, My Northwest (Sept. 9, 2019), https://mynorthwest.com/1505655/family-man-shot-in-the-back-killed-by-tacoma-officer-while-running-away/.
[7]Andrew Binion, Man Killed in Officer-Involved Shooting in Poulsbo, Kitsap Sun (July 3, 2019), https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2019/07/03/officer-involved-shooting-reported-poulsbo/1646537001/.
[8] Initiative Measure No. 940, § 2 (filed May 23, 2017), https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/initiatives/finaltext_1372.pdf.
[9] For a full description of the rulemaking process and comments submitted, see, Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission, Concise Explanatory Statement WAC Chapter 139-11 Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act: Summary of Rulemaking and Response to Comments (June 2019), https://wacities.org/docs/default-source/Legislative/wac139-11conciseexplanatorystatement.pdf?sfvrsn=0.
[10] See, e.g., Killology Kills Black People: Ban the Training in Spokane County, https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/killology-kills-black-people-ban-the-training-in-spokane-county.
[11] Maggie Quinlan, Black Spokane Residents Are 5 Times More Likely to Be Arrested, New Data Show, The Spokesman-Review (Updated June 16, 2020), https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/jun/14/black-spokane-residents-are-5-times-more-likely-to/.
[13] Jordan DeVylder, Exposure to Police Violence Linked to Mental Health Symptoms, Healio (Nov. 26, 2018), https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20181126/exposure-to-police-violence-linked-to-mental-health-symptoms.