Abuse claims weak

Christy Anderson-Crosen’s letter, “Beef up ombudsman role” (June 16), asserts that “Spokane cannot afford to wait to put in place what is necessary to hold the police accountable.” What two examples did she give regarding police unaccountability?

First, she brought up Jay Olsen. How has Olsen not been held accountable? He was arrested, tried in court, and then fired by the Police Department. Sure he was acquitted, but remember, he was acquitted by a jury of peers, not police, and after the acquittal he was still fired.

Secondly, she brought up Otto Zehm, an incident involving a confrontation between a 60-some-year-old officer confronting a man who at the time was an alleged robbery suspect, about 30 years younger and 50 pounds heavier than the white-haired grandfatherly officer. Oh, but the Monday-morning quarterbacks say Zehm was mentally challenged and was innocent after all. Apparently, Officer Thompson left his crystal ball in the patrol car. By the way, the legal issues over the Otto Zehm incident continue.

Any more examples of “Cops Gone Wild”? With Chief Kirkpatrick at the helm, there has never been more accountability in our Police Department than there is now.

Bart Stevens

Spokane Valley