Otto Zehm

Otto Zehm, a Spokane man with schizophrenia who worked as a janitor, died after a confrontation with police at a North Side Zip Trip store in March 2006.

‹ Newer Older ›

News > Spokane

Police chief acknowleges mistakes in Zehm investigation

Thu., April 12, 2012

For the first time, a high-ranking Spokane police official has publicly acknowledged that the department made troubling mistakes while investigating the 2006 confrontation that killed Otto Zehm. In his most candid interview yet, interim Chief Scott Stephens also expressed “concern” that Assistant City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi had greater access to the investigation than he did, even though, at the time, Stephens supervised the detectives who investigated the Zehm confrontation.

Opinion > Column

Doug Clark: Layer after layer, Zehm investigation stinks

Tue., April 10, 2012

I was a kid in my 20s when the Watergate scandal unraveled. (Note to young people: This was before Facebook and even bigger than Bieber Fever.)

News > Spokane

Transcripts reveal officers were given three days to file Zehm report

Sun., April 8, 2012

Newly released documents show Spokane police officers involved in the deadly altercation with Otto Zehm were given three days to think about the incident before writing reports detailing the 2006 encounter, and when they were asked to file reports, did so in a group with the aid of an attorney hired by their union. The transcripts of grand jury testimony that remained secret for three years provide previously undisclosed details of how the Spokane Police Department managed the criminal investigation into the deadly confrontation with the 36-year-old, mentally ill janitor – an investigation that one high-ranking U.S. Justice Department official has said amounted to a cover-up.

News > Spokane

Feds dispute misconduct allegations in Zehm case

Sat., March 31, 2012

The U.S. attorney’s office on Friday said allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by a forensic videographer – charges that have indefinitely stalled the sentencing of former Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. – are meritless and claimed the man lied about how he first became involved in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aine Ahmed filed scores of pages Friday detailing the pretrial and post-trial dealings with forensic video expert Grant Fredericks, who approached U.S. District Judge Fred Van Sickle with concerns only after a jury convicted Thompson in November of using excessive force and lying to investigators to cover up the fatal 2006 confrontation with Otto Zehm.

News > Spokane

Feds: Misconduct claims in Zehm trial meritless

Fri., March 30, 2012

The forensic videographer, whose allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have indefinitely stalled the sentencing of former Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson, Jr., is depicted in new court documents as an attention-seeking police apologist who lied to federal investigators and whose misguided concerns of prosecutorial misconduct are meritless.

News > Spokane

Former chief blasts Thompson salute

Fri., March 30, 2012

Former Seattle police Chief Norm Stamper told a Spokane crowd Thursday that he wasn’t knowledgeable enough about the city’s most infamous case of recent police misconduct to offer much meaningful commentary on it. But he said he understood the Otto Zehm case enough to know that police officers who saluted Karl F. Thompson Jr., the officer convicted last year for using excessive force against Zehm, were insulting to Zehm’s family.

News > Spokane

Charges expected against two more Spokane officers

Thu., March 22, 2012

Federal obstruction charges are expected to be filed soon against two more Spokane Police officers in connection with the city’s handling of the Otto Zehm investigation, which U.S. Department of Justice officials have called an “extensive cover-up.”

News > Spokane

Karl Thompson seeks new trial in Otto Zehm case

Tue., March 20, 2012

Former Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. wants a new trial because an expert witness now claims a federal prosecutor bullied him, and he alleges for the first time that jurors improperly discussed evidence prior to the end of the trial. Defense attorney Carl Oreskovich filed arguments late Friday alleging that Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Durkin and FBI special agent Lisa Jangaard knew through prior questioning of video expert Grant Fredericks that Fredericks believed a surveillance video of Thompson’s actions was open to a number of interpretations.

Opinion > Column

Doug Clark: Justice for Otto Zehm is close at hand

Tue., March 20, 2012

Four or five other customers were ahead of me when I sauntered into the convenience store on Sunday’s sunny afternoon. No worries. Despite the Zip Trip name on the signage, I hadn’t come here on a speed run.

News > Spokane

Condon fires city attorney

Fri., March 2, 2012

In the biggest shakeup of his administration yet, Spokane Mayor David Condon on Thursday fired City Attorney Howard Delaney following worsening criticism of the legal office’s handling of a series of high-profile cases. Condon informed Delaney Thursday morning, said city spokeswoman Marlene Feist, who also announced the appointment of new City Attorney Nancy Isserlis, a former chairwoman of the city’s Ethics Commission.

‹ Newer Older ›

Blog Posts

News > Spokane

SPD Chief Craig Meidl’s full answer about the Karl Thompson salute

Tue., Aug. 2, 2016

Newly-appointed Spokane police Chief Craig Meidl offered an apology for the hurt caused by his salute of former officer Karl Thompson following Thompson's conviction for violating civil rights in the death of Otto Zehm.

News > Spokane