Spokane7
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May 6, 2010 in City
Judge to rule on request to bar evidence
The attorney representing police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. has asked a federal judge to exclude any evidence that Otto Zehm had not committed a crime on the night of his confrontation with Spokane police and to exclude the testimony of two young women whose 911 call sparked the incident.
U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle in a hearing May 17 is expected to rule on those motions by Carl Oreskovich, the taxpayer-paid private attorney defending Thompson.
Thompson faces felony charges of using excessive force and lying to investigators. His trial is scheduled for June 2 in connection to the 2006 confrontation that resulted in Zehm’s death two days later.
In one of his motions, Oreskovich is asking to exclude the testimony of Allison Smith, also listed in court records as Alison Smith, and Makenzie Murcar, because they apparently gave different accounts to federal agents than what they told police, Oreskovich said in court records.
“For whatever reason Mackenzie Murcar and Allison Smith have elected to make changes to their testimony,” Oreskovich wrote. “To allow testimony … other than the 911 tape … would result in unfair prejudice to Karl Thompson and jeopardize his right to a fair trial.”
Efforts to reach Smith, 22, were unsuccessful, and Murcar, 23, did not return several calls seeking comment.
Oreskovich, who did not return calls made to his office this week, also filed a motion seeking to exclude any “evidence regarding Otto Zehm’s innocence,” because that evidence was obtained following the confrontation where Zehm was beaten with a baton, shocked with a Taser and hogtied on the floor for 17 minutes before he stopped breathing, according to court records.
Thompson responded to the North Side Zip Trip believing that Zehm had either committed or attempted to commit theft or robbery, Oreskovich said in court documents.
“Any evidence as to Otto Zehm’s innocence would … allow the jury to consider more information than was known to (Thompson) at the time of the confrontation,” he wrote. That evidence “would be improper, irrelevant and prejudicial to the determination of whether Defendant Karl Thompson acted reasonably under the circumstances.”
Closing Geiger: Wise or worrisome? 
Pat O'Leary on May 06 at 7:32 a.m.
Just a minute here….I thought in the United States of America, the presumption was that a man is innocent until proven otherwise. Don’t try to twist the Constitution to fit the crimes of the cop. According to the theory being presented by Oreskovich the reverse is true. Otto Zehm had to prove his innocence or take his beating like a man. What a subverted legal theory this is. These people act as though this is some kind of game to protect a cop that is contemptible in his treatment of a fellow human being.
Otto Zehm was just guy trying to go about life and enjoy some simple pleasures……a plastic jug of Pepsi and a Snickers bar, and instead, he was beaten and smothered to death by an out of control cop who is still being paid by the people he swore to protect.
If this what the justice system has come to…..God help us!
liarsinnews on May 06 at 7:46 a.m.
Sounds to me as though, Rocky Treppiedi still has his fingers in the case. What a travesty of justice. I continue to wear my OTTO pin, in hopes the cop who beat and suffocated him will get his due.
horse_feathers on May 06 at 9:34 a.m.
Right on, Mr. Oleary
hsmom on May 06 at 9:41 a.m.
I know no one here wants to here anything good about the spokane police, but lets look at solutions please.We need better oversite and training. If you look at the sort of people who become police you get two types, those who really want to serve and protect- the boy scout types. The others are the control freaks- the ones who were tattlers and bullies in school, they like to have the power to make others do what they want and don’t handle anyone defying them well. We need to hire, train and retain the former, while weeding out the latter. I live in the country, and our sherrif deputies are awesome! Maybe because they know so many of us personaly, but they often know who is mentaly ill, who is acting out, and who is really out to hurt someone. The difference between the way they interact with us and the way the Spokane police do is stunning- it didn’t use to be that way. Spokane has developed so many big city crimes and issues, no wonder the police are overwhelmed. I remember when the spokane police were more like todays sherrifs, some still are. A good example of an great Spokane officer was on Cops yesterday- I wish I’d gotten the name- this lady was drunk, or mentally disabled, or on drugs, she stole beer from a store and bit the cleark, then came back another day and did the same thing, when the cops arrived she bit one of them, screamed and yelled at them, kicked- she was scary. They were very polite and I thought very gentile with her, even after she bit one of them. I was very impressed. I would have wanted to smack her silly. If these had been the first responders with Otto, he would be alive today. The officer who killed him needs to go to jail, and there need to big huge penalties for those who lied to protect him. Those that are doing are great job need to be shown our support and respect. And no, I am not an officer or an officers wife.
lewis8457 on May 06 at 10:14 a.m.
I agree there are many very worthwhile people in our police departments. But we have too many people in the mix that have coddled them to the point they are above law and justice.
I have a hard time respecting anyone who doesn’t respect me, respect must be earned in today’s world.
I am supposed to have rights but the police of today can take those rights away with no accountability on their part and a pine box for me. How can my own Mayor see that as justice?
How is that right? Any union or administrative office that will allow this type of travesty of our social laws is a devil, a Hitler if you will.
As cops get more dangerous more people will act out and we will have more crime/murder then we have ever had.
If the Fed hits Spokane hard enough it may cause new contract negotiations with the guild or possibly their entire destruction.
lewis8457 on May 06 at 10:21 a.m.
SR Otto is top news in Spokane how is it this article is under toilet cleaning procedures?
Stay on this story and you might be the shining knight after the trial, the paper that told it like it is. I see a news award for you possibly.
Even though I can go to another news site I only read the SR because i want to be as informed as Mayor Verner.
lewis8457 on May 06 at 10:26 a.m.
Pat, Dan Torok Spokane police officer and supervisor on site the night of Ottos death, and also was the man who sat on Otto’s ribs taking out his last breath said in a SR post last year.
Just because we kill you during an arrest doesn’t mean you weren’t guilty.
No the idea you are innocent is not in the SPD training Manuel the Manuel clearly states everyone is guilty of something and justice must be dealt with a swift blow, preferable to the head with a over sized night stick.
kennyhuston on May 06 at 1:44 p.m.
I have not heard the 911 call by these two girls which started the whole Otto affair. Does anyone have a link to where I may be able to hear this? I’ll thank you in advance. Remember Otto!!!
misjustice on May 06 at 7:56 p.m.
Okay,,,this is like the Jay “I have a secret” Olsen case; jurors were NOT permitted to know that Mr. Shoto Pete had been found not guilty of Olsen’s claim that Pete had ‘stolen’ his truck…
No_Forked_Tongues on May 07 at 12:34 a.m.
Every day there is another revelation of corruption and injustice in the case of Otto Zehm.
Just when you think it cant get any worse..it does.
“would result in unfair prejudice to Karl Thompson and jeopardize his right to a fair trial.” What about Otto’s fair trial? Thompson was judge, jury and EXECUTIONER.
How can one rule out that Otto did not commit a crime, when he didn’t? So does the jury have to assume Otto was guilty and therefore Thompson had the right to beat the crap out of him, as soon at Thompson stepped foot into the Zip Trip?
Just what information did ol Karl have besides the Zags were losing, when he pulled that big ol heavy unbreakable baton and start whaling on Otto’s head and shoulders as Otto retreated in fear for his life? The talk about Otto’s mentality at the time, but what about Ol Killer Karl? How many of our SPD’s coppers would murder or attempt to murder someone w/out mental reservation (and yes I’m talking Jay Olsen and Dan “blogger/stalker/liar” Torok). Does anyone realize Torok asked the local TV stations to remove his pictures off their web sites?
Glad to see the two women who lied are now outed in the community and hopefully the justice system will seek justice for them too.
Murcar, Makenzie Michelle Defendant
Spokane County Dist XY0165414 05-03-2010
Spokane County Dist I06187480 04-20-2010
Spokane Superior 09-2-11055-1 12-08-2009
Spokane County Dist CR0097680 02-23-2009
Spokane Municipal B00072839 08-15-2008
No_Forked_Tongues on May 07 at 1:21 a.m.
Seattle takes a page out of Spokane’s training manual.
http://www.kirotv.com/video/23482801/index.html
hsmom on May 07 at 8:25 a.m.
This problem goes deeper than just the SPD. Our system is breaking down. The rules don’t work for ordinary people anymore. The unions protect incompitants from being dimissed, the courts protect the bad guys. The civil liberty union protects everyone, even if they are a threat- like the drunk officer who hit and run- they claim he is “disabled” maybe so, but so what? The government protects big buisness- even when they cheat and kill their customers.The schools hang on to a failing system, which pretty much serves as free babysitter and job security for overpaid administration. None of our rules or laws seem designed to protect the regular person. If I do something wrong I will be protected, but as an average citizen, I am out of luck. Time to rebuild, not just tinker with little changes. We could fix the problems in the SPD with a little common sense, but our system won’t allow it. We would have to change the union and the laws before we could fix this.