Spokane’s police ombudsman has reversed his stance and is asking city leaders for the right to examine allegations of police misconduct independent of the Police Department’s own probes.

....Council members say that the main legal concern regarding changes to the ombudsman rules is whether they are a change in working condition that must be approved by the Spokane Police Guild. They say the new draft is constructed so that the ombudsman’s work isn’t construed as police discipline. That’s why the power to conduct an independent investigation would kick in only after the chief closes the case, said Councilwoman Amber Waldref.

Full article [here].