Vice president of Spokane’s NAACP chapter arrested on domestic violence charges

The vice president of Spokane’s NAACP chapter, Le’Taxione, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of domestic violence assault.

In court documents, police say the victim reported Le’Taxione bit her on the left side of her face before hitting her multiple times and attempting to strangle her, on the evening of Dec. 14. A witness told police that Le’Taxione assaulted the victim for more than an hour while her children were in the house.

Le’Taxione is being held in Spokane County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

Le’Taxione, also known as Ernest Carter, was convicted of assaulting a police officer in California in 1983 and attempted murder with a firearm in 1990 in Oregon.

In 1998, he was convicted of first-degree robbery in Washington’s Pierce County. It was his third serious offense, making him eligible for life without parole under the persistent offender law.

Also an author, he wrote eight of his nine published books in prison.  In 2016, he was granted clemency by Gov. Jay Inslee under the condition that he complete a work release program and comply with a variety of terms of supervision.

As part of the conditional clemency, Le’Taxione was required to abide by all laws with the failure to do so possibly resulting in his commutation being revoked.

Since his release, Le’Taxione has become an activist focused on gang violence prevention. He enrolled in Spokane Falls Community College and serves as vice president of the Black Student Union, according to the Communicator, the SFCC student newspaper.

Le’Taxione was set to assume the role of vice president of the NAACP on Monday evening but has since been removed from the position.

Outgoing Spokane NAACP president Kurtis Robinson said in a statement that the NAACP “engaged in fact finding and discovery procedures” on Thursday before determining that immediate action was required and removing Le’Taxione from the executive committee. The decision was ratified unanimously on Friday by the executive committee in an emergency session, Robinson said.

Incoming NAACP President Kiantha Duncan said in a statement that Le’Taxione was held to the same standard of accountability as other leaders in the organization.

“The NAACP knew of Le’Taxione’s history, however we welcomed him in his efforts to be a productive citizen and community member as he had demonstrated since his release,” Duncan wrote. “The standard of accountability applies to us all. We have removed him from any leadership in our organization, yet we will not turn our back on him as a member of this community. Le’Taxione was in a position to really do great work around gang violence, and I would not want those youth to suffer as a result of his actions.”

Duncan, who serves on the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence board, said she would never “condone these types of actions toward another human being.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been update to clarify which of Le’Taxione’s convictions contributed to his classification as a persistent offender and to detail the terms of his clemency.