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August 10, 2011 in City
Shawn Vestal: Truth about Zehm sure took a while
It took just five years, 20 weeks and a day.
But finally we’re hearing the truth about Otto Zehm from Jim Nicks.
In a statement filed Friday in the federal case against Officer Karl Thompson, Nicks – who was the acting chief when Thompson and other officers confronted, beat, Tasered and hog-tied Zehm at a Zip Trip on March 18, 2006 – says Thompson’s account of the confrontation is factually wrong, his actions were improper and the subsequent police investigation of the incident was insufficient.
Nicks, stunningly, notes that there are a lot of “glaring inconsistencies” between the statements of Karl Thompson and the evidence.
He didn’t have much to say about the glaring inconsistencies between the statements of Jim Nicks and the statements of Jim Nicks.
The night Zehm went on his ill-fated shopping trip for candy and pop, Nicks rushed to the scene. So did City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi. Such was their dedication to the truth that they came out to a crime scene on a Saturday night, to get right to the bottom of things.
Which they very, very quickly did.
I happened to be on the weekend cops shift that Saturday night. I was at the convenience store, outside the crime-scene tape, trying to get a little information before a fast-approaching deadline. Nicks eventually came out and declared that the officers involved had followed all the department’s policies. And – hey, no contradiction here – he assured citizens that there would be a full investigation.
Even then – before Zehm had died, before much of anything was known about what happened – it was obviously a truth-challenged statement. Jim Nicks may not have known then what he knows now. But he did not know what he said, either.
As has become obvious.
“The officers were definitely within the (department) policy,” he said that night. “The officers used the lowest level of force possible.”
A few months later, Nicks said, “Karl had a lawful right to use the amount of force necessary to gain control of the suspect with the belief that Officer Thompson was about to be pushed, hit or charged. With that in mind, Thompson was within policy and training to use a nightstick and Taser in the manner which he did.”
Between then and now, Nicks has made a slow, gradual journey toward the light, apparently – while sticking up for Thompson and retailing obvious whoppers, such as Zehm’s fictional “lunge” toward Thompson, a tale that was first told that Saturday night outside the Zip Trip.
But then, sometime before Thompson’s June 19, 2009, federal indictment, Nicks apparently managed to take a peek at the store’s videotape. He testified to the contradictions in Thompson’s testimony before a grand jury. In June 2010, he approached Thompson’s defense team and told them about his concerns. On Friday, his statement was filed in federal court.
Better late than never, I guess. The thing is, all this truth-telling remained under wraps while the city continued to play hardball and cover its butt and blame Zehm and issue no-comments. But back when all Nicks had to spread was B.S., nobody seemed to mind.
If you’ve followed the case, reading Nicks’ current statement is breathtaking. Nicks says Zehm did not assault Thompson, lunge at him or try to punch him – Zehm was “retreating” and “non-assaultive.” Nicks now says Thompson should not have Tasered Zehm, or gone after him as quickly as he did with a baton – literally within a couple seconds. Thompson should not have used “vertical” blows to Zehm’s head.
Thompson, Nicks says, said a lot of things that are simply not supported by the evidence, and he points them out one by one. In particular, he notes time and again that Thompson’s testimony contradicts the store’s security video.
Which has only been available to police since … the night of the fight.
Five years, 20 weeks and one day. That’s how long it took for the acting police chief’s truthful account to emerge.
Nicks’ statement includes several eye-openers. When the cops interviewed Thompson about what happened, they gave him a nice, long, off-the-record interview, followed by a lunch break, followed by an on-the-record interview. Which they later allowed him the opportunity to correct.
Then there was this gem: “The SPD Major Crimes Unit also failed to perform a side-by-side analysis and comparison of Officer Thompson’s recorded statement against the objectively recorded Zip Trip store security video.”
And this: “Thompson’s immediate baton strikes to the retreating, non-assaultive Zehm did not serve a legitimate law enforcement purpose … and no reasonable officer would have perceived Zehm’s response to Officer Thompson’s presence as assaultive.”
Well … duh. All it took was an inside investigation, an outside investigation, a lawsuit, public pressure to hire a police ombudsman, an FBI investigation, five years, 20 weeks and one day to drag the truth out into the light.
Nicks is second in command of the Spokane Police Department. First is Anne Kirkpatrick. She likes to talk about the importance of telling the truth. Her supposedly cardinal rule: “If you lie, you die.”
What happened to Otto Zehm in the Zip Trip was appalling. The failures of honesty, accountability and good faith that followed are despicable.
Nicks’ long, strange trip to the truth only makes that more obvious.
Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@spokesman.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vestal13.
The draw of the unknowable 
Orphan on August 10 at 7:02 a.m.
Well Said Shawn but theres still lots of splaining to do by Rocky and the SPD. How can we trust the City or the PD or the DA at this point they all acted in an unlawful manner IMHO.
karl2002 on August 10 at 7:02 a.m.
Why after this, is Jim Nicks still employed by the SPD?
wheels on August 10 at 7:21 a.m.
Tears of joy as opposed to those shed over the past 5 years.The thin blue line cracked for officer Thompson ( the country club prison is no more )and hopefully for all the others complicite in this cover up.Finally there will be Justice For Otto.
lewis8457 on August 10 at 7:43 a.m.
Have to wait and see if anything actually happens. Sadly i think this is just another smoke screen, and the only thing that will come of this is more distrust of the SPD.
brianrbreen on August 10 at 7:49 a.m.
Another good one Shawn. Isn’t the “lie you die rule” interesting. As far as I know the only SPD officer involved in the Zehm case forced off the department is the individual who headed the Zehm investigation Deputy Chief Al Odenthal. He is the cop that the federal government alleges caused the video tapes to be edited. Here is a link to a story you folks did back in 2006 regarding Odenthal’s departure from the SPD. It makes for some interesting reading even though it doesn’t tell the entire story.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/dec/20/deputy-chief-quits-police-department/
DickAdams on August 10 at 8:06 a.m.
Deputy Chief Al Odenthal`s track record on the force, kinda says it all, from DUI stuff to not charging the federal judge who was masturbating in River Front Park. Both he and former deputy mayor Jack Lynch covered up for the judge, and IMO both should have been fired.. Oh, I almost forgot, they both are gone. Lynch of course was still kicking when he got fired and the city ended up giving the guy too much money and a great pension benefit. The end result is always is at the expense of the taxpayers.
yellowcat on August 10 at 10:17 a.m.
Mr. Vestal,
Yes, what took so long? You said it well. Yes, where was the police chief? Where was the mayor? Where were the city attorney’s? A policeman kills someone and none of them get involved in the investigation? None of them challenge the findings? It is a huge coverup at all levels. And just last week Council PResident Shogan announces the June 2010 ordinance giving investigative powers to the Ombudsman will be repealed. If this disturbs you like it does me, attend August 22nd City Council meeting to let the Council know. The Police Guild and many city officials do not want the Ombudsman to have investigative powers……we, the public, must insist.
ChefGus/ John Olsen on August 10 at 10:17 a.m.
Well… I DO hope the members of the Current City Council are reading the paper and these blogs today. Step up and do the right thing… it seems the Mayor is also complicit in this to me, as well as the Chief of Police who although not on the job during the event… did handle subsequent events in a manner not consistent with her stated policies.
The whole bunch including Trepiedi and Tucker need to be GONE… call in the Feds or whatever is needed to get this done and to restore the public’s confidence in our police force. Thanks for the eyewitness report Mr Vestal…. keep after em….. I am waiting with baited breath for Mr Clark’s next column on this topic. John
rosiethump on August 10 at 10:33 a.m.
Excuse the redundncy:
SEMANTICS (applies fully re. “Then and Now”); VERNICULAR (close); FUNGIBLE (a stretch) you choose:
“Our employees must tell the truth as they see it.” Interpretation:
Officer Thompson is responsible for the death of this poor soul, but, ‘the way I see it,’ and because of the ‘Code of Silence’ and being a fellow-officer, he’s innocent (more redundancy), that’s the way I see it!”
Ron_the_Cop on August 10 at 12:26 p.m.
Those reading here should also read the two other ongoing comment threads of the articles by Brunt and Clouse:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/10/city-reconsiders-zehm-strategy/
Here’s the other and a link to my comment and challenge to the feds to go after those up the foods chain and not to be content with the low hanging fruit e.g., Ofc. Thompson who is now being scapegoated:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/09/xxxx/?comments#c330471
Ron_the_Cop on August 10 at 12:50 p.m.
Ok here’s all four article links that now have comment threads on this breaking story:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/09/xxxx/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/10/city-reconsiders-zehm-strategy/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/10/shawn-vestal-truth-about-zehm-sure-took-a-while/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/10/key-players-and-contradictions/
Ron_the_Cop on August 10 at 2:09 p.m.
Brian,
Well now regarding former Deputy Chief Odenthal, I find this interesting:
Lindholdt on August 10 at 6:20 p.m.
Cops lie. As one married to a public defender, I know that full well. Not all cops. But it’s about time Spokane came faced the music. In London, “rioting and looting has been continuing in the British capital since the weekend, when angry citizens of Tottenham marched to police headquarters to protest the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan.” Could happen here, innit? Thanks, Shawn, for telling the truth after the enduring passel of lies.
Slightlyworried on August 10 at 11:06 p.m.
One of the main reasons that cops lie is that they know that Steve Tucker has their back.
Ed Byrnes on August 10 at 11:31 p.m.
Karl Thompson did something very wrong on the night of March 18, 2006 and he should be held accountable. It is also abundantly, and painfully for me since I love my community, clear that the problems with this investigation, and others (Ron documents this well in the Creach case) rise substantially far up into the chain of command and our political leadership. A Federal investigation into the SPD and SCSO and the municipal governments that oversee them is clearly warranted. To not have this fully investigated would be akin to stopping the Watergate break-in investigation after arresting James McCord.
City Councilman Joe Shogan is poised to attempt rolling back civilian oversight of the SPD to the days when the Zehm murder went so shoddily investigated, indeed almost successfully covered up. Councilman Richard Rush is ready to push forward in appealing the arbitrator decision limiting the powers of the SPD Ombudsman, and deserves the full support of every citizen. The National Institute of Justice has repeatedly documented how civilian oversight of police conduct does not adversely interfere with the working conditions of line officers.
The City Council meeting on Monday, August 22nd at 6:00 PM at City Hall will be our opportunity to make our voices heard on civilian oversight of local law enforcement. This moment is pivotal for our community.
If the City Council fails to meet it’s obligation to us citizens then we will need to redouble our efforts toward justice, perhaps by a local initiative creating a citizen review board and petitioning the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the SPD, and the mayor’s office, for repeated failures to fully and effectively investigate police misconduct.
In previous posts both Ron and Brian have clearly and cogently discussed how there is a failure of leadership creating this climate of mistrust of law enforcement among us citizens. I concur with their independent assessments and I assert that the repeated failures of leadership necessitate us citizens taking a more active role in ensuring all of our basic rights.
I do not want to see what’s happened recently in the UK happen here and the burden is on each of us to do our part to improve our situation in Spokane. Even if you cannot or would rather not participate in the City Council meeting write to your council members clearly stating that you want to appeal the decision limiting our Ombudsman’s powers.
I was planning on attending the August 15th City Council meeting and will be away on August 22nd, so I am supporting our council members with research sent directly to them on civilian oversight of police conduct.
Ed Byrnes
greenlibertarian on August 10 at 11:44 p.m.
Spokesman-Review explained that Deputy Chief Al Odenthal and the Spokane Police Department want to spend approximately $410,000 to purchase a warehouse in another city, Hillyard,
I don’t what this ruckus is all about except inside dealing, but Hillyard is NOT another city, it’s a neighborhood of the City of Spokane.
brianrbreen on August 11 at 7:38 a.m.
Ed,
I hope you include the Worley report in that it has some pretty good points, and it is their own report.
http://spokesmanreview.com/docs/102606_report.pdf
Ed Byrnes on August 11 at 10:23 a.m.
Thank you Brian.
Ed
Ed Byrnes on August 11 at 8:06 p.m.
I am thrilled that my schedule may change and I can directly participate in the City Council meeting on the 22nd :)
hardwroc on August 14 at 10:38 a.m.
I’m still curious and waiting to hear about the two young ladies that called the police “THINKING” they were being robbed.
HOW do you THINK you are being robbed? Did he demand any money? Did he threaten you ? Did he grab anything from you?
Do they understand the difference between being robbed and being in the presence of a stranger YET?
I’d really like to see/hear an interview of these two nitwits that started the doom of Otto with the most obvious failure to grasp reality prior to the SPDs failure moments later.
What about Otto made peoples imaginations go off the charts and changed his holding a bottle of soda, into robbery and assault on a police officers, all the while BACKING AWAY in intimidation from the officers.
Have the girls called the fire dept lately “thinking there was a massive fire that did not exist “?
Hopefully they’ve gotten counseling and schooling to recognize the real world as it appears.
Pat O'Leary on August 14 at 12:44 p.m.
Blaming two young women for this death is absurd. Decent police work by Thompson would have put that to bed. This is about a homocide by a thug in uniform. Why are Nicks and Thompson still working for the SPD in command positions? If you can’t fire them at least they can be demoted to working where they have no authority. Paper work, dispatcher, janitor, or less. That’s where these two belong. Nicks in particular should be demoted….a proven liar. Continuing him in a position of authority is an insult to all the citizens of Spokane….and while we’re at it, get rid of Minnie Mouse too. And we just as well end this fiasco of an ombudsman office…a giant toothless joke.
DickAdams on August 21 at 5:03 p.m.
I sure hope that nobody counts on the city council for anything at Monday nights city council meeting. The ship of fools should have done a little homework along time ago and it would have been crystal clear that corruption in the Lilac City is alive and well. It continues spreading like a cancer. Its so sad. With the stories revealed in the Spokesman the past several days, Mayor Verner I would think, should withdraw from the Mayoral race. My gosh how much corruption should the citizens of Spokane have to put up with? Other than excuses, Verner seems only interested in increasing city taxes along with her financial guru Gavin Cooley. Please forgive my redundancy for posting that Cooley should be fired for the umpteenth time once more. I`m worn out complaining saying the same thing about Rocky Treppiedi who is in the habit, suing anybody seeking the truth about our city and the corruption at city hall, plus add to it, Treppiedi worked for Perkins Coie`s even though city hall sued its bond attorney and were sustained closing down the office and then the stupids at city hall rehired Treppiedi after he lost his job there.