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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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.

News >  Spokane

Juror claims Thompson attorneys twisted words

The forewoman of the jury that convicted former Spokane Police officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. of excessive force said in a letter to a federal judge that defense attorneys have twisted her words in an effort to win the decorated officer a new trial.
News >  Spokane

Thompson jury query to be opened

The secretive query of jurors who convicted former Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. will be made public after a federal judge decided Thursday to unseal court records. U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle said he would open the files, pending some limited work to black out the names of the jurors, following a motion to intervene by attorneys representing The Spokesman-Review.
News >  Spokane

Judge unseals Zehm records from secret hearings

A federal judge today opened the court files that he sealed regarding secret hearings held in Yakima to query jurors who convicted former Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. in connection with his deadly confrontation with Otto Zehm.

News >  Spokane

Feds oppose delays to Thompson’s prison term

Federal prosecutors appear to be growing frustrated with the ongoing delays that have kept convicted Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. out of prison. Eight months have passed since a jury convicted Thompson of using excessive force and lying to investigators in the 2006 fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm, an unarmed janitor errantly implicated in a possible theft. But court-ordered delays have postponed sentencing indefinitely as he seeks a new trial.
News >  Spokane

Park Board to consider Zehm memorial for Mission Park

The Spokane Park Board will consider a memorial for Otto Zehm on Monday, as was called for in a settlement between the city and Zehm’s estate. Mayor David Condon has recommended that a picnic shelter or similar facility in Mission Park be dedicated to Zehm, including a plaque that would read “In Memory of Otto Zehm.”
News >  Spokane

Jury that convicted Thompson queried

The same week Spokane city officials and the family of Otto Zehm celebrated the settlement of a civil suit stemming from his death, a federal judge held a rare private hearing in Yakima where he allowed defense attorneys to question the jurors who convicted former Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. of using excessive force on Zehm. According to interviews and court records, U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle provided no public notice of his decision or reasoning behind holding the hearings.
News >  Spokane

Mayor delivers apology in person

Last week, Spokane Mayor David Condon hand-delivered to Ann Zehm what she has wanted for more than six years: an apology. Zehm, 84, is the mother of Otto Zehm, who died in 2006 at the age of 36 after he was mistakenly accused of theft and beaten, hog-tied and shocked by police in a Zip Trip convenience store on North Division Street.
News >  Spokane

City to pay woman hit in ’10

Spokane officials have tentatively approved a $2.25 million settlement to a woman who became paralyzed from the waist down after she was struck by a city vehicle in 2010. The deal will be considered by the Spokane City Council next week – less than a month after the council approved a $1.67 million settlement with the family of Otto Zehm, a Spokane man who died in 2006 after he was beaten, shocked and hogtied by police.
News >  Spokane

Mayor eyes ‘metro’ model

Spokane Mayor David Condon said Friday that the Lilac City’s next police chief will not come from the ranks of the Spokane Police Department and indicated that he favors consolidating some police functions with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Condon said he’s reopening the search for chief, which no longer includes Interim Chief Scott Stephens.
News >  Spokane

Council approves Zehm deal

The Spokane City Council on Monday closed one chapter of the excessive force case that has dominated Spokane headlines for six years by finalizing the $1.67 million settlement with the family of Otto Zehm. The council voted unanimously for the deal, which was reached in mediation last week between city representatives, including Mayor David Condon, and Zehm family attorneys.

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