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April 14, 2009 in City
Officer Olsen quits on brink of firing
He’ll still receive back pay after shooting
Suspended Spokane police Officer Jay Olsen, acquitted by a jury last month for shooting a man in the head during a drunken off-duty chase through Peaceful Valley two years ago, resigned Monday.
The resignation came shortly before Olsen was to meet with Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick to discuss her decision to fire him from the force for departmental violations stemming from the shooting of Shonto Pete, including conduct unbecoming an officer and making an untruthful statement during a criminal investigation. The department advised Olsen of its intent to terminate him a week ago, and Olsen chose to resign instead of being fired.
“This is not a surprise,” Kirkpatrick said.
In his letter of resignation, Olsen said it had become clear to him that “some of my actions that night did not reflect well on either myself or the Spokane Police Department.”
On Feb. 26, 2007, after Olsen left a downtown Spokane bar, he chased Pete in the area of Riverside Avenue, between Cedar and Maple streets. Olsen fired his personal firearm, hitting Pete in the back of the head. In his resignation, Olsen says the force he “used that night was justified.”
On March 13, a Spokane jury acquitted Olsen of first-degree assault and reckless endangerment, triggering a public outcry over the exclusion of some evidence from jurors. Olsen claimed he’d caught Pete trying to steal his truck, but jurors were never told Pete had been acquitted of auto-theft charges.
After the trial, Olsen was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal police investigation.
Olsen’s attorney, Rob Cossey, predicted earlier that his client was unlikely to get his job back because he “committed significant violations of department policy,” including getting drunk while carrying a concealed weapon in a bar and failing to call for backup while chasing Pete.
Kirkpatrick said Monday the charge of conduct unbecoming was based on “the evening in its totality,” referring to Olsen’s decisions on the night of the shooting.
Olsen’s avoidance of investigators led to the untruthfulness charge. “I now realize that the safety of my fellow officers as well as the public should have taken precedence over my personal concerns,” Olsen wrote in his letter.
Kirkpatrick accepted his letter of resignation with the acknowledgement that Olsen resigned in lieu of termination. His resignation ends any opportunity for appeal but does not prevent him from getting a job in law enforcement elsewhere, Kirkpatrick said. Nor does his resignation affect the back wages he’ll receive, totaling about $153,000 for the time Olsen was placed on unpaid layoff status after his arrest in April 2007.
Meanwhile, a city investigation into the disappearance of potential evidence in the Olsen case is nearing its conclusion.
City Administrator Ted Danek said Monday a report is expected soon about testimony offered in Olsen’s trial from Marvin D. Tucker, the Spokane Police Department dispatch supervisor who said Pete told him in a 911 call that he’d stolen Olsen’s truck before the shooting.
Dispatch tapes show no such statement from Pete. Two people who stood next to him during the call, Michael R. Dale and Carol A. Blackburn, said Pete never said he stole Olsen’s truck. Tucker said the tapes containing the admission had been erased.
Kirkpatrick said Monday’s conclusion in the Olsen case illustrates that law enforcement is “stepping up” and taking responsibility for its actions at a time when constituents have voiced frustration over the handing of several high-profile cases, including the recent criminal investigation into the actions of Spokane County sheriff’s Sgt. Pete Bunch, who quit last week just before he was to be fired. “We’re taking care of ourselves,” Kirkpatrick said.
Staff writer Thomas Clouse contributed to this report.
Past and present 
warhorse on April 14 at 12:16 a.m.
Thank you police chief and Rob Cossey/Larry Stienmetz for the big bill. The police chief should have fired him two years ago. What a number Rob Cossey/Larry Stienmetz did to this community. Rob Cossey is one hell of a lawyer to get a drunken off-duty cop who shot a fleeing man in the back of the head off on all charges without one ounce of real evidence to back up his self defense claim. One hell of a lawyer Rob Cossey. Larry Steinmetz I don’t think prosecuting is your thing. I think you have a hard time doing your job effectively. What did we have to pay them for that job? I would also like to thank the Judge who allowed it to happen and the emotional jury. Lets all learn the difference between real evidence and circumstantial evidence. Oh and lets not forget to thank the 911 dispatcher. Have I forgotten anyone?
Oh yeah, Shonto or anyone else (especially Native Americans) don’t be going out asking cops for a ride anymore we tax payers can’t afford it.
liarsinnews on April 14 at 7:11 a.m.
I hope no one thinks well run companies in the private sector would have handled such a serious situation the way the SPD chief, and Mayor did, notwithstanding costing the company so much money. My guess is most managers would be hiking down the road, pink slip in hand, and the corporate board appointed another CEO after the first unforgiveable blunder.
schleufer on April 14 at 7:25 a.m.
i only have one thing to say about this guy “what a butthole!”
Bob2 on April 14 at 9:15 a.m.
1. When Spokane’s leaders start whining about tax increases or they will shorten pool or library hours we need to remind them about the $153,000 paid to this clown.
2. What is wrong with the Police Union? Why do they support people like this? This guy and the numerous other deviants that the union fights for give the entire force a bad name.
When you see a Spokane Cop how can you not wonder if he:
a) hasn’t recently flashed an expresso worker,
b) used a stun gun when he shouldn’t of,
c) hung out a gay bar until 3:30 in the morning and then started shooting people.
d) hog tied a retarded dude and watch him die.
e) resist arrest after peeping into some teenage girls window
The list could go on and on. Also if you know any of “Spokane’s finest” or their immediate relatives you know they have immunity from drunken driving arrests. The police are corrupt through and through and apparently there is nothing anyone can or will do about it.
suzieeizus on April 14 at 9:26 a.m.
We have a problem in Spokane that has become apparent in the past few yeras. We cannot trust the very people who are being paid to “protect” us. Our police department has failed in almost every way possible. They are reckless, aggressive, cocky, and are now well aware that they are above the law. Otto Zehm should never have died, Shonto Pete should have never had to run for his life from a drunk, raging cop with an attitude problem. We need some oversight, people. We need someone to keep this department and its employees in check. Ann Kirkpatrick has proven that she is not on our side either, telling us only to blame our neighbors for the horrible atrocities committed against spokane’s citizens. Lets stand up for ourselves, Spokane. Lets take charge of our own safety by creating a police and fire oversight board that has citizens’ interests and safety in mind, not the protection of shady, lying officers and their supervisors. Its time to take back the city! Lets not live in fear anymore!
jenny on April 14 at 2:54 p.m.
Alex Joe,
That is pretty much it in a nutshell. I don’t see how the judge could order that the prosecutor not disclose to the jury that they be denied the evidence that Pete was found “Not Guilty” of car theft. Then the jury could not see that DNA proved Pete was not in the truck, DNA, fabric lifts, fingerprinting…that must have cost a pretty penny to conduct all those tests and Olsen the liar gets paid for all that lying and what he caused. The city should demand a mistrial in front of a jury that has the privilege of all the information, all the facts.
jenny on April 14 at 3:05 p.m.
Oh excuse me I was thinking while typing. It just makes me so mad,,anyway the city chould demand a mistrial and hold another trial with competent judges and prosecutors and get this guy prosecuted and put away for awhile. He is being coddled by the system or by who he is friends with. Blaming being gay is just a cop out…A jury needs to know all the facts so they can make the right judgement. Olsen should have been fired long ago as nothing has changed. He violated the policy way back in 2007 and that is when he should have been fired. Now the SPD has to take full responsibility for leaving him on their payrolls. He is probably congratulating himself, that Olsen, as he got away with the crime, and got paid big time. What a disgrace.
howie59 on April 14 at 6:24 p.m.
“We’re taking care of ourselves.” Indeed!
jenny on April 16 at 1:07 a.m.
Delayed justice really does deny justice…when will justice be served? Will a petition have to be signed and brought before the president of the United States so that justice can prevail? As citizens of this USA, don’t we have protection somewhere in the Constitution of the United States.? The corruption is coming to the top and it is there for all the world to see. Are the police unruly and above the law. Lawless?The honest policemen need to help out in this plight. Some of the police might just be good people. Will they meet and do something honorable to save face? It’s just too barbaric. It’s as if the policies or the law doesn’t have to be followed except when it becomes convenient to dispell public outrage. But laws were broken and the prosecutors office knew about it, but that was also hidden from the jury. It is appalling to say the least.