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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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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.

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News >  Spokane

Year in review

January 1: Jonathan Wade Ellington runs over and kills Vonette Larson of Athol in an apparent case of road rage that involved chases and gunfire. He is later sentenced to a minimum of 12 years in prison.
News >  Spokane

12 months that were anything but dull

The year 2006 was a time of comings and goings for the Inland Northwest, in academia, sports, law enforcement and politics. Coming were Eastern Washington University's new president Rodolfo Arevalo at the start of the year and Washington State University's new president Elson Floyd at its end.
News >  Spokane

Deputy chief quits Police Department

Spokane Deputy Police Chief Al Odenthal, a 26-year veteran of the force, resigned Tuesday following behind-the-scenes negotiations over his future with the department. Various City Hall officials said personnel issues prevented them from commenting publicly about the circumstances of Odenthal's departure, but the retirement ends a tumultuous year for the 54-year-old lawman.
Opinion >  Column

Doug Clark: Future Spokanites, look on our works and despair

Spokane officials are asking for suggestions on items to cram in a time capsule so that the people of the future can crack it open in 25 years and have a good laugh about what a bunch of goons we all were. Two coffin-shaped time capsules were installed in City Hall back in November 1981 as part of the city's centennial celebration. The capsules were exposed the other day when city workers cut into a Chase Gallery wall, presumably looking for a safe place to stash their beer.
News >  Spokane

Man sues Spokane County over Tasering

Spirit Creager, a 34-year-old single father and painter of custom homes, is suing Spokane County for excessive force, emotional distress and false arrest resulting from a traffic stop two years ago where he was repeatedly Tasered by a sheriff's deputy. Spokane attorney Carl Oreskovich named the county and Deputy Chad Ruff as defendants in the lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of Creager and his son, Joshua, 13, who witnessed the altercation from Creager's truck on the night of Aug. 30, 2004.
News >  Spokane

Enhanced Zehm video released

The city of Spokane released the "enhanced" surveillance video Friday that Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker previously said he would use to help him decide whether to file charges against police officers involved in the fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm. The Spokane Police Department paid $5,000 for video forensics expert Grant Fredericks to enhance the surveillance tape. But the new version shows virtually nothing new; it synchronizes the audio 911 tapes to the silent videos from an ATM at Ruby Street and Indiana Avenue and the Zip Trip at 1712 N. Division St., said Spokane Deputy Police Chief Al Odenthal.
News >  Spokane

Review of Zehm probe on hold

The independent review ordered by Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession of Otto Zehm's death will have to wait, too. A hired consultant told Hession on Wednesday he won't review the Police Department's handling of the Zehm case until the various criminal investigations and an internal affairs probe are complete, and after county Prosecutor Steve Tucker decides whether to file charges against any of the officers involved. Tucker announced the same day that he's waiting for the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office to finish their investigation before deciding whether to clear the officers of any wrongdoing.
News >  Spokane

New evidence delays Zehm decision

The FBI has found new evidence in the fatal struggle between mentally ill janitor Otto Zehm and seven Spokane police officers, prompting Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker to again delay a decision on possible charges. FBI detectives have located and interviewed one witness Spokane police detectives never found. And, the FBI also got differing witness accounts from what local detectives put in their reports about what happened March 18 during the fatal confrontation, Tucker said.
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