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September 15, 2011 in News, City
Thompson attorney wants Zehm trial moved
The attorney representing Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. filed a motion today asking a federal judge to move the upcoming Oct. 11 trial because of “intense” media coverage and because it has become a political issue in the upcoming mayoral election.
Carl Oreskovich acknowledged in his filing that the deadline for such motions ended on July 21. He wrote in his court filing that he had been withholding his request for change of venue to see if attorneys had difficulty finding a jury to hear evidence about the fatal confrontation with Otto Zehm.
“Since that (July) date, there has been a marked upsurge of publicity and political attention surrounding this case, including dramatic public reaction to the 22 page declaration of Assistant Chief Nicks filed on Aug. 5, 2011,” Oreskovich wrote.
Thompson is charged with using unreasonable force and lying to investigators following the March 18, 2006, confrontation with 36-year-old, mentally-ill Zehm at the Zip Trip at 1712 N. Division St.
Thompson was the first officer to respond after two young women erroneously reported that Zehm had stolen money out of a nearby ATM. Thompson entered the store and used a baton to strike Zehm, who was holding a 2-liter soda bottle.
The struggle continued for several minutes and eventually included six other officers, who hogtied Zehm and placed a plastic mask over his mouth, and according to court records, put their weight on Zehm until he stopped breathing. He died two days later.
Assistant Chief Nicks, who earlier this week announced his upcoming retirement, initially told the public that Zehm “lunged” and “attacked” Thompson. But he told federal investigators a different story and is expected to testify that Thompson used a level of force not authorized by department policies and that his department conducted an incomplete investigation.
When more information of his upcoming testimony was filed in court records, the controversy spilled over into the race for mayor as challenger David Condon criticized incumbent Mayor Mary Verner for how she and other city leaders have handled the situation over the past several years.
“Due to the recent politicizing and barrage of media coverage,” Oreskovich wrote, “I am compelled to bring a motion to change venue at this time because the coverage has resulted in presumed prejudice making it impossible for Officer Thompson to receive a fair trial in this venue.”
He asked Van Sickle for permission to file a 33-page brief supporting his motion, which will include “excerpts and analyzes a select portion of articles and news broadcasts.”
Oreskovich did not immediately respond today for an interview request and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Durkin said he could not comment about any aspect of the case.
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PlanB on September 15 at 6:42 p.m.
Missed the deadline by almost two months. I wonder how much consideration the motion will get, hopefully none.
PlanB on September 15 at 6:43 p.m.
Also, thank you S-R for removing that first post.
misjustice on September 15 at 6:45 p.m.
Ditto on the thank you…
ChefGus/ John Olsen on September 15 at 6:45 p.m.
Actually I hope they take the trial to another venue… way far away… on the other side of the state…. so that there will be no question about how the jury was impaneled ….. the media circus here, just before the election would certainly raise the question in my mind about the officer getting a fair trial. I want him to have a fair trial… and also all of the others that are implicated, or have made ANY effort to dissemble or cover up the truth in this case. John
Kivaari on September 15 at 7:01 p.m.
The request is appropriate. The big issue is this has dragged on for several years. Nicks corrected the information years ago, but both the defense and prosecution has stalled. Had this been handled correctly it should have been over in the first year. It is going to be hard to find a clean jury. If jury members from the Spokane area don’t know about this case, then they don’t pay enough attention to the community. A jury of your peers is a scary thing.
misjustice on September 15 at 7:44 p.m.
Someone posted, “A jury of your peers is a scary thing.”
Yup, almost as scary as a cop charging you and then beating you until he can hogtie you, leave you on your stomach and put a mask over your face; stopping breathing, going into a coma, and then dieing…almost as scary as that, only not even a little bit as scary as that…
Kivaari on September 15 at 8:38 p.m.
Missjustice, I said that! It applies to every defendant facing a jury trial. Not just to rogue cops. I have seen too many juries reach absolutely wrong verdicts. Let us remember the jury in the Shonto Pete case, where they found Olsen NOT GUILTY.
Talk about a scary thing. What will you say if Thompson is found not guilty? There is a high probaility that the jury can see Thompsons argument and believe it. It might not be a “slam dunk” case, just like Olsens trial.
nslopeofw on September 15 at 8:46 p.m.
MisJ-
Couldn’t have said it better myself. I’m for the change of venue, then there is no question. How can there be after the video is played? The sad part is A. Otto died, and B. many more are involved and need to go to the big house.
jddavis on September 15 at 9:13 p.m.
MisJ and nslope—right on the money. Thompson deserves a fair trial, and I’m not at all worried about a change of venue.
I am sure more are worried about the “intense” local coverage of SPD / SCSO actions. It’s a damned shame Otto died as a result.
Kivaari on September 15 at 9:30 p.m.
MJ, Slope and JD. Remember the “slam dunk” in Olsens case? The only justice delivered to Olsen was by the police department. The jury found him not guilty. The PD allowed him to resign, in lieu of a firing. He lost his certification. Had they just gone by the jury finding, he would still be working.
Notice in the woodcarvers death in Seattle. The ME/coroners inquest and the other investigations found no reason to charge the officer. So Seattle PD offered him a chance to resign or be fired. No other justice unless a civil trial happens. Then the jury in both that case and Zehm, may find in favor of the officer(s). A jury of your peers let Olsen walk. Civilian reviews let the Seattle officer walk.
Al_Loysius on September 15 at 9:38 p.m.
The judge will actually have a lot of leeway in fashioning a jury panel that has not heard much about the case. Remember that this case in is the US District Court for Eastern Washington. That means that the jury panel will be drawn not from only Spokane County, but from the 20 or so counties that make up the Eastern District. In the month before trial it should not be that hard to design a computer program that would draw more jurors from the Tri-Cities, Wenatchee, Yakima, Omak, etc. that are less likely to hear about the case. The S-R may hate to hear this, but even in Spokane, a significant portion of the population does not read the paper.
I would predict that there will be no change of venue. That is because a change of venue means holding this case up for another year (as well as the civil suit that can’t go until the criminal case is done). Basically everybody wants this case over with, win, lose or draw.
jddavis on September 15 at 9:47 p.m.
Kivaari—ordinarily I agree with you. The video is pretty conclusive as to Thompson’s actions and Otto’s actions. I find it possible, but highly improbable that Thompson’s actions could be explained away in front of any 12 jurors who will see the deal go down.
If there were no tape, this would have been swept under the rug a long time ago.
Kivaari on September 15 at 9:56 p.m.
JD, I agree. To you and me, the tape is enough. The follow on investigation filled in the gaps and Thompson should see justice delivered. I just have seen so many juries reach insane verdicts. Had this gone to state court with Tucker doing the work, I would have expected Thompson to have walked. I have seen similar cases where bad police work gets excused by a jury. The federal charges are much easier to prove then the state charges. I saw an excess force case in Tacoma go in the officers favor. I worked with him and he was always too eager to use force. We interupted an assault with a wine bottle between two street people. He was ready to beat the man down with a baston. I simply walked up to him and took it away with a quick grab and turn. Sure it is risky to use too little force, but I never got dragged into federal court for excesses.
misjustice on September 15 at 10:27 p.m.
Thompson’s attorney has probably been reading the blogs & sees that his client WILL NOT get a fair & unbiased jury. All the armchair jurors here have already convicted him & not one of them has heard his side of the story.
Yes, I say he needs a change of venue.
Liberty_Bell on September 15 at 10:36 p.m.
Yea Tacoma Kavaari, where the Chief Murders his wife, the elected sheriff, goes to Federal Prison, and tonights vehiclular homicide by another Pierce County Deputy Special.
What’s the Queen doing tonite, defending another criminal state employee case, shown best as her speciality as AG?
18 USC 241, and 242 are clear, unless your working for tippy canoe, and tucker too.
Liberty_Bell on September 15 at 10:40 p.m.
Vote Democratic Party, unchanged for generations.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Ku+Klux+Klan+Act
Squid on September 15 at 11:00 p.m.
Kivaari, I find myself agreeing with you more and more these days. You used to defend the area police, no matter what, including Olsen. What changed?
Anyway, if there is anyone in this area that hasn’t heard about the Zehm trial, I sure don’t think they would be qualified to be a juror, and I sure wouldn’t want them judging my fate. How could anyone not hear about this, without having their head buried in the sand?
Another thing is that much of the evidence could be excluded as prejudicial, like the video. The defense attorney could exclude it as prejudicial, due to the fact that Thompson didn’t know certain things, when he ran at Otto. You never know.
In the Olsen trial, there was a ton of evidence that was excluded, and that is the reason why he was acquitted. (along with all the lies) It’s a big stinky game, especially when the Government is involved.
Evil_vortex_of_Spokane_politic on September 15 at 11:37 p.m.
Condon, using his unlimited political savvy from serving under Chatty Cathy, queers the best court entertainment Spokane has had in a long time. I cant wait till the debates, the front row will be better than a Gallagher show. Maybe we can get Doug Clark to MC the debates?
Maybe time to go back to selling Christmas trees.
On the other hand I’m sure we can find a huge percentage of the local/regional unbiased population whose minds and opinions whom are not dulled by the S R.
lewis8457 on September 16 at 6:53 a.m.
I agree with change of venue the folks of spokane seem to let the cops off, why is beyond me.
The only thing that concerns me this will drag out another couple years.
But honestly i don’t think anything will happen, it has been so long we see weed buyers slammed away in minutes but a cop that kills is still on the job years later and most likely will retire with full honors.
while pulling in his 76 grand a year and we pay his legal bills cause he is too poor.
lewis8457 on September 16 at 6:55 a.m.
in the old days we would ride thompson and i 6 buddies out to a tall tree.
brianrbreen on September 16 at 6:59 a.m.
@JustMeAgain
I didn’t hear his side of the story, but I did read one of his stories. Remember, the one he gave to Detective Ferguson and that story didn’t comport with what I saw on the video. It will be interesting to see if we do hear from him on the stand. That is going to be a tough call for CO.
@Al_Loysius
I agree, can’t remember a venue change in federal court in this district, and that goes back a long way. Judge Van Sickle is pretty fair so there is a chance they could hear it in Yakima.
opiemuyo on September 16 at 7:02 a.m.
Please bear in mind that the jury is composed of person(s) who are not smart enough to get out of doing it. I expect a shallow gene pool wherever the trial is held.
lewis8457 on September 16 at 7:06 a.m.
kivaari could the jury in the olsen case have been scared, it has been known the cops pick on bloggers here , how about if they are on a jury, to convict a buddy.
we all know they can kill at will here, and as we see now cover-ups are not only in the SPD but also in the mayor and city attorney office.
every year the trial gets close something happens to delay it and never delayed 3 months no always 14 or 16 months, as if they are waiting for Mrs. Zehm to pass on so they drop facade that they actually will do anything.
in the mean time the 7 officers that killed Otto are collecting their pay and harrassing more citizens.
in the old west they had the sheriff come to town now we need somebody to come clean the sheriff from the town.
sadly no one seems to care.