Spokane City Council retroactively ends state of emergency declared by Mayor Brown in response to downtown protests

SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane City Council voted Monday to retroactively end the state of emergency declared by Mayor Lisa Brown on Wednesday.

On June 11, Mayor Brown issued a state of emergency for the city after clashes between law enforcement and protesters during anti-ICE protests in downtown.

Several speakers at Monday night’s meeting expressed their anger and disappointment with the declaration, saying the protests only became emergencies after law enforcement escalated the situation.

Councilmember Paul Dillon called the vote a ‘formality’ and said it was really “to bring closure” to the state of emergency, which was issued without an end date.

During the discussion, Councilmember Cathcart said he wanted to review body cam footage from police and Councilmember Navarrete asked people to consider the initial cause for the protest.

“Think if this was you – if you were taken from your family without investigation,” she said.

The Office of Police Ombudsman is leading an independent investigation into SPD’s actions during the protests.