SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall addressed concerns about police accountability and recent settlements during an interview on Thursday.
Hall reflected on his experiences, recalling significant events from his early career.
“Quite frankly, this is something we’ve been wrestling with long before George Floyd, you know, even going back to Rodney King when, when I first started, I was in the academy when the riots, occurred. And in Southern California, where I grew up. And that was, an eye opener, to say the least,” Hall stated.
Chief Hall, who has been with the Spokane Police Department for a year, spent most of his career in Tucson, Arizona. He emphasized that deadly force incidents point to systemic issues beyond any single department.
“If somebody is armed with a firearm and they pose a threat to the community or to the officers, there’s not a whole lot we can do about that. The officers are going to have to take action to save lives,” Hall said.
To address these challenges, the department plans to implement the Integrated Communications, Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) program. This initiative, already used in Louisville and Minneapolis, aims to reduce both deadly and non-deadly use of force.
“So we’re bringing that here at the end of next month, to, train, a whole bunch of our folks to be train the trainers. And then that’s going to go out to the entire department. And that is it is all about de-escalation. It’s all about recognizing people in crisis. And it’s all about, taking the time and using your critical decision making skills to assess the situation as opposed to just reacting to it,” Hall explained.
Hall also noted the department’s ongoing review of use-of-force incidents. He expressed gratitude for the community’s support, stating that he and other officers have never seen as much care and backing as they do in Spokane.
