Spokane: Council Member Zappone Responds to County Public Safety Leaders
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~ Spokane County Council Member Zappone expressed disappointment in the county's public safety officials for avoiding questions about jail capacity and instead targeting her in a recent press release. As the chair of the Public Safety and Community Health Committee, Zappone has repeatedly invited Chief Hooper and his staff to attend committee meetings to address these concerns, but has received no response.

According to Zappone, she first emailed Chief Hooper and Lieutenant Sparber on September 3rd, inviting them to the September 8th committee meeting. She followed up on September 5th with Lieutenant Sparber to confirm his attendance, but he clarified that there was a misunderstanding and he would not be attending. Zappone then reached out again on September 8th, including Chief Hooper in the email and offering to accommodate their schedules for any future meetings. However, she received no response.

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Zappone continued her efforts to get a response from jail leadership by following up again on September 15th. She mentioned that she had not heard back from either Lieutenant Sparber or Chief Hooper in a week and extended another invitation for them to present at a committee meeting. Despite her efforts, there was still no response.

The lack of communication from jail leadership has left Zappone's constituents and residents of Spokane concerned about jail capacity and unsure of what is happening. The county's Detention Services Dashboard shows that the jail has been in red light status for 124 hours in the last month, which equates to twenty percent of the time. This status makes it difficult for officers to book those they arrest and can result in them having to watch over detainees for hours until red light status ends.

In an effort to clarify these issues, Zappone has invited leadership to attend the next Public Safety and Community Health Committee meeting on Monday, October 27th. She sees this as an opportunity for them to educate the public instead of making statements in a press release. Zappone hopes that by addressing these concerns directly, the community can gain a better understanding of the situation and work towards finding a solution.

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