June 25, 2009 in City

Officer has lengthy, varied police career

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Karl Thompson was at the top of his basic training academy class in 1997 when he was hired at 49 to join the Spokane Police Department’s uniformed division.

Thompson brought a wealth of law enforcement experience in a career that saw ups and downs before his federal indictment, announced Monday, in the death of mentally ill janitor Otto Zehm in 2006.

As a police officer in Los Angeles in the 1970s, Thompson’s assignments included gangs and violent extremist groups. He was trained as a hostage negotiator and SWAT officer, he has said.

He moved in 1979 to Kootenai County, where he became a sheriff’s deputy and held at least four jobs related to law enforcement, including sheriff’s captain.

“This is a pretty unusual guy,” said his attorney, Carl Oreskovich. “He’s done a lot of things that require a lot of intelligence and training.”

Now 61, he is also someone who has aimed for the top.

Former Kootenai County Sheriff Pierce Clegg hired Thompson from the Idaho State Police in 1989 to serve as captain in charge of patrol, detectives, marine operations, search-and-rescue and snowmobile patrols.

He quit that job in 1995 and was working as a juvenile probation officer when he ran, unsuccessfully, for sheriff as a Democrat against Republican Clegg a year later.

Oreskovich did not want Thompson to be interviewed. Clegg was unavailable for comment this week.

At the Spokane basic training academy in 1997, Thompson was honored for highest achievement in scholarship and pistol marksmanship. He also was best overall in firearms.

Spokane did not allow lateral transfers, so Thompson was required to undergo basic training again, Oreskovich said.

Three years ago, Thompson was one of 43 people to apply for Spokane police chief – the appointment that went to Anne Kirkpatrick.

His record in Spokane includes a 2002 lifesaving award for pulling a suicidal man away from the railing of the Monroe Street Bridge.

He is a hostage negotiator, has worked on a crowd control team and has been a member of the critical incident crisis team.

In 2004, he was cleared in the shooting of a suspect who was brandishing a handgun and aimed it at another officer. At the time, police Chief Roger Bragdon said Thompson was “very well-trained technically and old enough to be level-headed.”

Use-of-force records showed that Thompson deployed his Taser at least six times prior to the Zehm incident to get compliance from people who were resisting arrest. Police records showed he was found to have acted within policy in each case.

They included one involving a juvenile threatening to injure staff members with a telephone receiver at a crisis residential facility. Two other incidents involved men with knives. Thompson also used his Taser to stop a handcuffed woman with bipolar disorder from kicking officers. The woman was resisting an arrest on an involuntary mental health commitment after she told roommates she was going to get “bloody.”

Thompson used his Taser to restrain Zehm, which police commanders found to be justified.

Oreskovich declined comment on Thompson’s record of use of force.

Thompson began his career in the U.S. Army in 1965, serving in the Special Forces in Germany and the 173rd Airborne Division in Vietnam. He was decorated with a bronze star and two commendations, Oreskovich said.

As a captain in Kootenai County, he earned a bachelor’s degree in justice studies in 1992 from Lewis-Clark State College and attended the FBI Academy and Command College, including a program in dignitary protection.

In one incident, Thompson and two other investigators reportedly told racists at a skinhead gathering in California in 1989 that they were from CBS News to gain access, according to one of the investigators involved.

Thompson was involved in the community as a member of the United Way board for several years and started a running program for at-risk youths in the mid-1990s.

“I think his career speaks for itself,” Oreskovich said. “He is someone who is respected and takes pride in his career, takes pride in his demeanor and takes pride in his experience.”

“I think he carries himself in that way.”

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13 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  George Sands on June 25 at 12:28 a.m.

  He's a Rambo creep that couldn't keep a job. That should have been a psychological concern when he was hired.

  Doesn't matter what his past was. The only that matters is the 10 minutes in the Zip Trip where he bludgeoned Otto Zehm over a Pepsi bottle.

  The only time his past is going to come up in court is during his sentencing phase. AFTER he's found Guilty.

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  ChefGus on June 25 at 5:46 a.m.

  It does make one wonder, that such a “talented” officer as depicted here has had so very many, many different jobs….hmmm I wonder how much extra Testosterone might have been flowing in his veins with hormone treatments to maintain his “edge” at 61… Testosterone drives Rage…. in men and in women too… evidence the closing of the practice of medicine of a woman physician who often prescribed
  Estratest type compounds for her patients… A raging woman going through menopause because of prescribed testosterone is bad…very bad and scary… but not nearly as bad as a male with declining testosterone who is being treated…. be very interesting to do a blood test, and check his medical records… it would be a great “twinky” defense…..:)) john

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• 

  Gregor_Samsa on June 25 at 5:58 a.m.

  Cops should be tested for steroids and fired is they use them.

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  Ed F on June 25 at 5:59 a.m.

  No matter how glowing the paper writes of him and all the warm and fuzzy comments by former workers this guy confronted Otto from behind and beat him to death and then lied about what happened.

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  George Sands on June 25 at 6:28 a.m.

  Thompson can snow job his fellow co-conspirators in the SPD, but he doesn't/cant snow job the Citizens and hopefully a Federal Jury. (Not an Olsen Jury).

  I wonder if he will make a nice shawl while in prison?

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  dick adams on June 25 at 7:49 a.m.

  You have to wonder how many times this police officer may have done bad stuff in the past when most everyone looked the other way? It often happens this way in both the private sector and in all government agencies. Many supervisors fail to document events, and fail to act the way they are paid too.

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• 

  Lewis on June 25 at 9:44 a.m.

  In the article it said he was once a hostage negotiator. Where did that knowledge go when he confronted Otto? Nowhere in the 911 calls is Otto said to be armed and dangerous, so with the negotiator experience he should have been able to talk Otto out of the store to safety.

  “County Sheriff Pierce Clegg hired Thompson from the Idaho State Police in 1989 to serve as captain in charge of patrol, detectives, marine operations, search-and-rescue and snowmobile patrols.

  He quit that job in 1995 and was working as a juvenile probation officer”.

  Why would anyone quit being a captain in charge of patrol, detectives, marine operations, search-and-rescue and snowmobile patrols, to be a juvenile probation officer?

  How can anyone think he has had a celebrated career, sounds to me like he has jumped from job to job and at times from region to region.

  A point has been brought several times that he was 60 years old, tough if you cant do the job at that age then get a easier job.
  

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• 

  Bob_Knows on June 25 at 11:02 a.m.

  Where is the indictment of the other 6 murderers who participated in beating Mr. Zehm to death?

  These hired killers are the enemies of free men. They all ought to be ridden out of town on a rail by the good people of Spokane.

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• 

  BT on June 25 at 11:11 a.m.

  And there you have it once again, a Californian who came up to our small quiet town, just to ruin it once again with big city attitude. I don't see why any of the LA cops move up here, they aren't worth a darn, and should take their bad tempers back down to Califoria were they belong. They think there all high and mighty, you should listen to all of them in CDA talk about how stressful the job was, and that's why they moved to Idaho. If it wasn't for Mark Furman they wouldn't know this area. GOT BACK TO CALIFORNIA!!!

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• 

  Ron_the_Cop on June 25 at 12:23 p.m.

  BT and others posting here,

  I just posted this comment in Doug Clark's column thread.

  BT - I'm a cop from So Cal and have major issues with the death of Otto Zehm. There are other much deeper issues that folks in Spokane need to be made aware of. I know Mark Fuhrman and heard him express similar concerns regarding the death of Otto. I would look much deeper and ask why Mark Fuhrman's radio show is no longer on the air. Once you've answered that question you will understand we have a very serious problem here in Spokane that citizens of Spokane are uninformed or are too scared to address:

  To All and Doug:

  As a retired So Cal cop/det with over 35 years experience, yes there are things very wrong surrounding the death of Otto Zehm. However things may not always be as they first appear to be.

  Doug you are commended for keeping this case in the public spotlight.

  If you're interested in my words of wisdom you can read more here:

  Federal Civil Rights Indictment Returned in Otto Zehm Case - Spokane, WA

  http://friendsofmarkfuhrman.org/blog/…

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• 

  D Walker on June 25 at 1:22 p.m.

  Another Ida-FORNIAN. They continue to come up here like locusts, with their holier than thou pumped up egos. First, I would like to know who footed the bill for this huge article??? The Cowles don't print anything unless it produces money. Second, can anyone charged with murder get a glowing biography put in the paper to sway the jury? This guy is a murderer, just like his fellow cops. Find him guilty, and send him to prison, in California, where he belongs.

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  BT on June 25 at 3:07 p.m.

  Hey Ron the Cop!! Mark Furman's radio station was dismantled, because Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington got tired of hearing his poor excuses as an LA Cop! Yeah, we have good cops here way before you California cops decided to invade our area. To be quite frank I like the secret witness protection mafia families here in our area before I'd a stupid california cop! I'm mean seriously, get over yourselves and go back!! The only problem we have up here is the fact that california's moved into our area, and are corrupting our area with wrongful doings.

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  Ron_the_Cop on June 25 at 4:07 p.m.

  BT and D. Walker

  Actually I'm in agreement with you on how the City of Spokane responded/handled the death of Otto Zehm. Be careful of what you wish for or before you throw rocks at me. You may need us Californians to call, “a spade a spade” (No pejorative meaning intended) to aid in fixing our mutual problem. Read what I've written. I have no confidence in Spokane Co Prosecutor Steve Tucker and in fact have professionally called him out for his “white washing” and concealing from public scrutiny the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Jo Savage:

  http://friendsofmarkfuhrman.org/blog/…

  I don't want to go off thread here but you might consider reading these two prior letters by me:

  http://friendsofmarkfuhrman.org/blog/…

  http://friendsofmarkfuhrman.org/blog/…

  Yes, Spokane PD has major problems that must be clearly dealt with. And this is coming from a police officers' association president of a city of nearly 300K. I'm not making excuses for Spokane PD but you need to look much deeper than the symptomatic examples of Otto Zehm and Shonto Pete to fix these problems before we have more similar incidents.

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