Families of police shooting victims in Spokane pushing for state and local reform

SPOKANE, Wash. – People who lost family members to officer-involved shootings gathered near Spokane Police headquarters Tuesday for the 72nd monthly protest against police violence.

The protest was organized by Debbie Novak, the mother of David Novak who was shot and killed by Spokane Police in 2019.

She’s hopeful new state legislation will help create more transparency and accountability for police officers.

“What we need is accountability and transparency,” Debbie Novak said.

The Novak family was part of a $4 million settlement paid by the city of Spokane in 2022.

Although most victims of police violence cases have been settled, there are still many things impacted families would like to see changed including the way these cases are prosecuted and investigated.

“We have management and sergeants, people that are in upper management for the police department, operating under the pretense that lethal force is de-escalation,” Novak said.

David Novak’s case was recently accepted for a formal review by the new state department of independent investigations.

Debbie Novak says 20 different flaws were found in the way her son’s case was investigated, including a Spokane city employee that was the lead investigator in the case. She hopes the transparency the new office will bring will also create more public trust.

“When the citizens in Spokane get upset about settlements being paid out, they need to go to the root of the problem,” Debbie Novak said. “We are archaic here at our academy and we are archaic here at our Spokane city police department.”

Novak says Spokane has the third highest number of deaths at the hands of police in the country.

Novak and the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability are pushing the state to create an Office of Independent Prosecutions this legislative session.

The coalition believes a new office would help increase public confidence that these cases are being handled fairly.

“When a system is set up a certain way and that’s the way it’s been done for generations, it’s hard to break out of that,” said Cynthia Manycolors, who lost her son in 2023 to a police shooting.