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March 2008
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Some of our KREM.com visitors may have questions about our investigation of Deputy Mayor Jack Lynch after reading the city’s response to KREM 2 NEWS questions and the Spokesman-Review’s questions about Lynch being spotted in High Bridge Park and his subsequent lengthy medical leave. In early September 2006 KREM 2 NEWS received a phone call from an anonymous source with local law enforcement who did not wish to go on camera. This source said that Lynch may have a connection to a male prostitute in the area of High Bridge Park on two specific dates. We checked with a source close to the Spokane Police Department who told us they had similar information and that the police department was attempting to cover it up.
So we sent Jared Dillingham down to City Hall and the Police Department to get some answers to what we were hearing. Knowing the nature of the accusation, we never aired anything on KREM 2 NEWS or published anything on KREM.com regarding the mention of a male prostitute. That has come out with the release of today’s document’s with the permission of the city and Lynch.
Many people may ask why we’re pursuing this story in the first place. It’s critical that KREM 2 NEWS holds our public officials, especially the #2 person in the city, accountable for their actions, especially when some of the actions may have occurred during the city’s time that the taxpayers pay for. The public is also paying for Lynch’s unexplained medical leave that started right after we started asking questions about High Bridge Park and it’s our responsibility to our viewers and visitors to find out if those are related.
I’m pleased with Jared’s efforts on behalf of the community in trying to get this 15 page police report released and I also applaud the Spokesman-Review’s legal efforts to free up these documents.
We still have a lot of unanswered questions on this story including: Why did Lynch say he was there checking on police patrols in the area when the police reports don’t identify him as the driver of his SUV? Who was driving the SUV? Does this have anything to do with the unexplained paid medical leave of the #2 person in the city since the leave was taken just after we started asking questions about High Bridge Park and Lynch’s SUV?
Look for Jared Dillingham to find the answers to these questions on KREM 2 NEWS and KREM.com.
Send me your questions about our transparent newsroom here at this blog. 5 CommentsLeave a comment |
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Sounds real fishy to me, Oh the web we weave when we try and deceive! Lynch is good as gone from city government.
It sounds like someone is trying to create a "hot story" out of an extended medical leave. From the IA report, as far as can be told, the Deputy Mayor may not have even really been there.
Unfortunately this will be dealt with internally and the truth will never be disclosed. The City Police Dept does a very great job deceiving the public when it comes to morality issues and protecting one of its own. Its not about serve and protect. Police City/State/County are all about intimidation. They don't know how to grasp the concept of social interaction. Instead, they use bullying and intimidation when dealing with the public. It's a shame. It's time we get city officials that have the balls to stand up for the citizens that support them.
As a former Spokane resident (for five years), I take offense to the last post. The men and women who comprise the Spokane Police Department are some of the best officers in the country. In all of my dealings with them as a KREM.com producer and as a private citizen, they were always courteous and professional. There is obviously another story here. What is the city doing to clean up the activity at High Bridge Park? Go out there sometime this Spring on a Thursday or Friday afternoon and just see all of the men walking around the park. Bet they are not betting on the ponies or talking about attending the next gun show.
The frequent, merited need to investigate the honesty of our officials' and officers' is more than cause for concern: it is cause for alarm. In a region this small, most people know each other. Many of us know the ramifications of "questioning" the conduct of each other. Our current mayor and our new police chief have rare opportunities to introduce integrity to Spokane. The truth does not have two sides: it either is or it "ain't". Which police investigation could survive a one-lie-and-you're-fired standard?