Breaking: Report Finds #RachelDolezal Misconduct On Spokane Police Ombudsman Commission

Whistleblower Report Finds Commissioner Misconduct

Report Says Three Ombudsman Commissioners Acted Inappropriately

Contact: Brian Coddington, Communications Director, 509.625.6740

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Noon

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An independent investigation into a whistleblower complaint filed against three members of the volunteer citizen Police Ombudsman Commission has found behavioral misconduct during interactions with City employees.

The eight findings in the report admonish the conduct of chair Rachel Dolezal and commissioners Kevin Berkompas and Adrian Dominguez. It has been forwarded to the City Council for review and determination of any action.

“We are deeply disturbed by the facts contained in the report of findings from the independent investigator,” Spokane Mayor David Condon and Council President Ben Stuckart said in a joint statement. “The conduct is unacceptable and falls far short of the community's expectations of volunteers who sit on City boards and commissions.”

The investigation began on May 4. The full report is available below.

Separately, a selection committee has been interviewing applicants for the vacant ombudsman position. The committee is prepared to recommend three finalists after a nationwide search.

“We remain firmly committed to a Police Ombudsman Commission that delivers independent citizen oversight of the police department, and will keep the process of hiring a new ombudsman moving forward,” Condon and Stuckart said.

Attachments:

• Report to the City of Spokane Whistleblower Committee (PDF 1.8 MB)
• Report to the City of Spokane Whistleblower Committee - Exhibit A (PDF 12 MB)
• Report to the City of Spokane Whistleblower Committee - Exhibit B (PDF 194 KB)
• Report to the City of Spokane Whistleblower Committee - Exhibit C (PDF 104 KB)
• Report to the City of Spokane Whistleblower Committee - Exhibit D (PDF 303 KB)
• Report to the City of Spokane Whistleblower Committee - Exhibit E (PDF 165 KB)
• Report to the City of Spokane Whistleblower Committee - Exhibit F (PDF 1.8 MB)

Via: Skokane City

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Al Sharpton Blames Parents for Calling Out Race-Changing NAACP Official

Al Sharpton on Saturday slammed the parents of Spokane NAACP President Rachel Dolezal, saying he has to wonder what their motives were for revealing her to be a white woman, not an African-American, as she claims.

"On one level, you've got to say to her, you're misleading us, but on another level, mom and dad, come on," he told TMZ. "Are we gonna have this dysfunctional family stuff play out and distract us from real key civil rights causes. Be the adults here. You just now noticed she was in the NAACP?"


But still, Sharpton pointed out that the real issue is not race, as there are whites "in all of our organizations," and who died fighting for civil rights.

"It's not about whether she is white or black, but are you going to be honest?" he said. "Don't be misleading... if you're fighting for the rights of people, don't deny who you are."

However, Sharpton wondered why Dolezal's parents, Lawrence and Ruthanne Dolezal, waited until Friday to appear on television to discuss her. 

Instead, he said, they waited until she became more prominent before making their statements, Sharpton said. 

“You’ve got to ask the question, ‘what are Mom and Dad’s motives here… where’ve you been?” he replied.

Her parents, Lawrence and Ruthanne Dolezal told CNN Friday that their daughter has been claiming to be black for years, but they were never asked about her until recently. The couple has four adopted children, three of whom are African-American and one from Haiti, in addition to Dolezal, who is their biological daughter.

They also shared a photo of her, taken while she was younger and showing her with blonde hair, and a birth certificate that lists themselves as Dolezal's parents. 

Her mother told CNN that Dolezal cut ties with them several years ago, as "she doesn't want to be seen with us because that ruins her image."

Via: NewsMax

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The White-est of All Guilt

SPOKANE, Wash. — Controversy is swirling around one of the Spokane region’s most prominent civil rights activists, with family members saying the local leader of the NAACP has falsely portrayed herself as black for years.

Rachel Dolezal is president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, chair of the city’s Office of Police Ombudsman Commission, and an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University.

The Spokesman-Review reported Thursday that questions have arisen about her background and her numerous complaints to police of harassment. The story was first reported by the Coeur d’Alene Press.

Dolezal’s mother, Ruthanne, says the family’s ancestry is Czech, Swedish and German, with a touch of Native American heritage.

Dolezal has identified herself in application materials as white, black and Native American.

Police say they have found little evidence of racial harassment.

On Twitter and sometimes here, I like to talk about how ridiculous “Tumblr Culture” is. It’s Tumblr and places like it that have allowed kids with no clue of how the world works to claim they are transabled, have “headmates” (if you are unclear as to what this term means, forget you’ve ever seen it because only sadness comes from looking it up), and other signs of either too much imagination or mental distress.

Well, at some point, along came an Internet troll with a great idea: Let’s create “transethnicity” to up our trans game. And, so, it happened as a joke. With Dolezal, it no longer appears to be a joke.

Via: Red State

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Spokane NAACP Leader Falsely Portrays Herself as Black, Her Own Family Says

SPOKANE, Wash. — Controversy is swirling around one of the Spokane region’s most prominent civil rights activists, with family members saying the local leader of the NAACP has falsely portrayed herself as black for years.

Rachel Dolezal is president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, chair of the city’s Office of Police Ombudsman Commission, and an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University.

The Spokesman-Review reported Thursday that questions have arisen about her background and her numerous complaints to police of harassment. The story was first reported by the Coeur d’Alene Press.

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Dolezal’s mother, Ruthanne, says the family’s ancestry is Czech, Swedish and German, with a touch of Native American heritage.

Dolezal has identified herself in application materials as white, black and Native American.

Police say they have found little evidence of racial harassment.

Via: Washington Times

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Health exchange website crashes during road tour

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A mobile enrollment tour for the state's new health exchange hit a speed bump in Olympia when its website went down.

The Washington Healthplanfinder site went down sometime Sunday morning, preventing visitors at the Olympia Farmers Market from enrolling for insurance aboard the trailer that was outfitted with about 20 laptops.

About 50 people showed up, either to get information, start the application process or schedule an appointment to do so, says Bethany Frey, a spokeswoman for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange.

It's not the first time the site has had problems, starting with the first week the exchange went online. And last week, staff discovered and corrected tax-credit miscalculations.

The mobile tour began Oct. 16 in Spokane and will end Nov. 12 on the Seattle campus of the University of Washington. About 35,000 Washington residents have signed up for insurance through the exchange since it opened on Oct. 1.

Via: KOMO News
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