Spokane County Settles Public Records Complaint for $100,000

SPOKANE (AP) — Spokane County has settled a lawsuit for $100,000 after failing to provide public records related to the psychiatric treatment of jail inmates for nearly two years.

The Spokesman-Review reported Tuesday that the Center for Justice filed the lawsuit last year.

The center's attorney, Jeffry Finer, says the county failed to follow through on a request for documents pertaining to $300,000 in annual funding from the state for the jail's mental health care.

County Risk Manager Steve Bartel says the delay in releasing the documents was partly caused by confusion after the county took authority over the jail from the sheriff's office in 2013.

Bartel says the undisclosed documents were uncontroversial, and the county had no reason to keep them from public view.

Finer says he's still reviewing the documents.