SPOKANE — Two volunteers with the Spokane sheriff’s office have been suspended for associating with a man accused of impersonating an officer and beating up a man.
Witnesses say one volunteer with the Sheriff Community Oriented Policing Effort or SCOPE watched without intervening Saturday night when 22-year-old Eric J. Ortiz is accused of breaking into a home and assaulting a man. He was jailed for investigation of burglary and impersonation.
SCOPE director Rick Scott told The Spokesman-Review that two volunteers have been suspended. They reportedly are related to people involved in the incident.
SCOPE volunteers are not officers and don’t carry guns. They help with work such as traffic control and fingerprinting.
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