SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Police Department spent over half a million dollars in overtime last month as anti-Trump protests and demonstrations hit the city’s budget.
June was the department’s most expensive month of the year. While some summer events like Hoopfest were planned and cost over $250,000 in overtime, other protests were not expected.
On June 11, demonstrations against immigration officers erupted downtown. The department deployed more than 180 officers, the vast majority working overtime.
“So we bring in a lot of folks just to be safe. And that’s what occurred on June 11th,” said Police Chief Kevin Hall.
Just three days later, officers worked the No Kings protest.
“Which once again became very, very expensive. Then Hoopfest occurred. So in that small amount of time, less than three weeks, we expended a little over half $1 million in just overtime,” Hall said.
Chief Hall says the budget will even out, but he worries about his officers.
“The fatigue factor is very, very real for my staff. So we can pay the bills. That’s just the way business works in policing. And we will continue to do that. But I can’t keep grinding my officers down like this,” Hall said.
The department now does threat assessments to determine how many officers need to be at events. Chief Hall warns that a close look at the overtime budget might become necessary as more protests happen in the city.
Despite June’s high costs, the department says it remains under budget for overtime for the year.
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