By Associated Press - Sunday, July 23, 2017

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - The Spokane Human Rights Commission plan to apologize to the sheriff’s office for a comment one of its officials made on social media regarding newly hired deputies.

Vice chairwoman Ashley Torres shared a post on Facebook announcing seven new Spokane County sheriff’s deputies and commented on the lack of diversity in the force. The Spokesman-Review reports (https://bit.ly/2tRGcBG ) Torres didn’t step in when another commenter made a remark about the group looking white-washed.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezoich says the comment sent a terrible message to the new deputies, particularly coming from the human rights commission. He demanded an apology.

Torres says the hiring process isn’t working and barriers to hiring minorities need to be addressed.

The commission’s chairman, John Lemus, says the group will apologize to the sheriff and the new deputies at its meeting Tuesday night.

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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, https://www.spokesman.com

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