SPOKANE, WA – Despite having at least 30 days, the Spokane Police Department did not issue a training bulletin on how to enforce Mayor Lisa Brown’s new camping ban until days after it took effect.

The Spokane City Council passed the mayor’s proposal on Jun. 30, after it initially failed earlier in the month over a provision requiring up to a week’s notice before breaking up encampments. Five council members are now facing an investigation over how it all played out, with Brown included in the probe.

The new camping ban replaces one approved by nearly 75% of voters in 2023 before the Washington Supreme Court ultimately invalidated it in April. Business leaders demanded that the council restore the will of the voters by reinstating the law, but the progressive majority declined to do so.

The Center Square asked Police Chief Kevin Hall on Aug. 1 whether SPD had started training officers on how to enforce the new law. He sent an email noting that it would take effect on Aug. 6, but that “officers are familiar with how to effect an arrest,” though he noted a training bulletin was on the way.

“The training bulletin that we are developing (and is still in draft form) will essentially explain how to interpret and apply the ordinance from a legal perspective,” Hall replied on Aug. 1. “Given the nuanced changes between ordinances, we aimed to create a document that clarifies any potential confusion.”

Hall said once SPD finalized the draft, he would send over a copy, but nothing came for over a week.

The Center Square emailed Hall again on Aug. 11, to which he responded that same day, noting that the bulletin was being formatted “right now” and that he would send it that night or in the morning.

The Center Square eventually received the document on Aug. 13, a week after the law took effect.

“Sorry,” Hall emailed The Center Square on Wednesday night. “I’m out of state on vacation and had a miscommunication with my staff on sending you this. This initially went out internally on Aug. 8, we made some modifications, and this is the latest iteration. I’ll be back in the office next week.”

Councilmember Michael Cathcart told The Center Square on Thursday that he had Council Policy Advisor Chris Wright request the bulletin on his behalf on Aug. 6. He said that they hadn’t received anything yet and was shocked when The Center Square provided it to him before SPD or the administration.

“I’ll be honest, I’m pretty aghast that I’m receiving these from you (thank you by the way) and not in response to the request that was made,” Cathcart wrote in an email.

Neither Cathcart nor Councilmember Bingle is facing an investigation like their peers. Both represent the council’s conservative minority and much of downtown, which is among the most impacted districts by homelessness; despite this, the majority routinely rejects their proposals to bolster enforcement.

When Brown proposed an overhaul of the city’s homelessness response with the council majority in May, they chose not to tell Cathcart or Bingle until hours before the unveiling. The mayor and some of the council held a private briefing with the local media the day before, but not The Center Square.

Bingle and Cathcart didn’t receive copies of the ordinances until The Center Square sent them to both.

“This is not a thing that snuck up on them,” Bingle said Thursday regarding the late training bulletins. “This is actually a bit of a pattern, because I’ve heard this a number of times on a number of issues.”

The document that Hall sent was dated Aug. 12, but included another effective date of Aug. 8, as he noted in his email. The training directs officers to protect city-owned properties and rights-of-way, while “prioritizing outreach, engagement and voluntary compliance,” according to the bulletin.

Notably, it says to “use enforcement as a last resort.” Another document that Hall sent listed contacts for eight service providers. Officers can only issue citations for camping if someone refuses to leave the area, refuses outreach and services or poses an immediate threat to public health or safety; however, it includes language to expedite enforcement within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, daycares and shelters.

The voter-approved camping ban, which the state struck down in April, required enforcement within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, or daycares. Due to a federal ruling at the time, SPD couldn’t enforce the law until the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way in June 2024, overturning the lower court’s decision.

Similar to now, SPD didn’t issue training bulletins on how to enforce the voter-backed ban until weeks after SCOTUS overturned the lower ruling, despite voters passing the law in 2023. Residents questioned at the time whether SPD was enforcing after officials said they would “as able and warranted.”

“Feels as if we’re making excuses for a lack of will to enforce on behalf of the elected officials,” Bingle told The Center Square on Thursday regarding the new bulletins. “You can tell when things are a priority to us, because we get it done right away … If it falls on anybody, it falls on elected leadership, not on SPD.”

The Center Square contacted Communications Director Erin Hut for an explanation from the mayor on the recent bulletins, but she said that was an operational question for SPD that Hall could answer better.