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February 12, 2012 in Opinion
Editorial: Settlement with Zehms would let healing start
Mediation may be the beginning of the end to claims the family of Otto Zehm has made against the city of Spokane for his death at the hands of Spokane police officers.
Perhaps it can also be a start to reconciliation between the Police Department and citizens aggrieved by the incident, the conviction of Officer Karl Thompson Jr. for his role and the Police Guild’s coolness toward more citizen oversight.
Although the civil case brought by the family was overshadowed by the criminal proceedings against Thompson, it could potentially have a much greater effect on the city, to the good, and not.
The “not” is the financial impact, which at least is probably capped at $1 million. Anything above that amount (up to $10 million more) would be the burden of the city’s insurer. Because of the cost of providing an attorney for Thompson in the civil case and associated expenses that will be deducted from the $1 million, how much might be left to contribute to funding the family’s claim is unknown.
Before the lawsuit was filed three years ago, the family had sought $2.9 million from the city.
The insurer, AIG, will be at the table, too. As will be the case with the city, AIG will be weighing the cost of a settlement against what a jury might award in damages and the cost of litigating the case. Thompson’s conviction in the criminal trial suggests that a determination of city culpability in the civil case, where the standards of proof are lower, may be a foregone conclusion. If so, the amount of the money judgments would be the only contested issue.
However, the mediation will likely be about more than money. The Zehm family and its attorneys developed a plan for reforming the Police Department that has circulated for some time. How much implementation of some plan elements might weigh in reaching a settlement is one of the unknowns: The city and family have agreed to keep the mediation private until there is a resolution.
But in his State of the City address Friday, Mayor David Condon said his new administration is already taking several of the actions included in the Zehm proposal. For example, within 100 days officers will receive more training in the handling of individuals who, like Zehm, have mental disabilities. A commission to study officer use of force has been named. Purchase of body cameras for officers is also on the agenda.
Condon has the immense advantage of a clean slate in the Zehm case, certainly an advantage that contributed to his election victory. A speedy, successful mediation would be an important first step for his administration. Failure would return the matter to the courts, there to linger while the city and citizens try to move on.
A settlement will not entirely wrap up the Zehm matter. A federal investigation into other aspects of the case continues. But resolution of the family’s claim will close one chapter and begin the healing.
To respond to this editorial online, go to www.spokesman.com and click on Opinion under the Topics menu.
MAC firing begs explanation 
Pat O'Leary on February 12 at 7:15 a.m.
Why do my comments keep disappearing?
Pat O'Leary on February 12 at 7:23 a.m.
Thompson behind bars will start the healing process….not money.
DickAdams on February 12 at 7:47 a.m.
How does Mayor Condon expect the public to swallow his baloney that he spewed out campaigning for mayor re the Otto Zehm homicide? The mayor took advantage of this terrible tragedy and used the attempted cover-up to defeat former Mayor Verner. IMO, it was a slick trick/stunt to hoodwink the voters into believing he would really fire a few city hall officials involved in the cover-up (more especially Treppiedi). Everyone I know expected Condon to fire Roco Treppiedi immediately. What did he do? Condon appointed the same City Attorney, Delaney, knowing that meant Treppiedi would continue to be employed at the 5th floor law firm in City Hall. And as hard as it is to believe, well maybe not, Mayor Condon allows Treppiedi to represent the Lilac City as his city attorney.
wdodd on February 12 at 7:59 a.m.
If the city had acted accordingly they would not be in the position right now. Again the city legal team has costed the taxpayers a ton of money. Mayor Condon should live up to his campaign promises and fire Delaney and Rocco.(They) the legal team have proven that they are more of a liability than an asset for the city of Spokane. From past actions of these attorneys this will happen againThere is no excuse for the criminal actions of these attorneys. Mayor wake up!! If nothing is done in the first 100 days of Condon’s office then it’s a waste of taxpayers money again. The voters are watching very closely and (You)
Condon could be just another one term mayor.
WillyPeter on February 12 at 10:40 a.m.
Delaney and Treppiedi may be working still as city attorneys four years from now, but then Condon will be lookin’ for work.
liveinfearoftheSPD on February 12 at 10:42 a.m.
I don’t think there will ever be true healing. Condon keeps the same crooks defending the city that brought us to this mess to begin with. They have continually fed the public with mis-information, flat out lies, hiding evidence and a host of other mis-deeds.
They either drag their feet so a statute can run out, or they impede justice with their lies and hiding evidence.
Mayor Condon……
FIRE Treppiedi, put a bug in Tucker’s arse and force him to do his job. Prosecute those who did contribute to Otto’s death.
Stop molly-coddling the SPD and cow-towing to the guild.
SMARTGUY on February 12 at 1:06 p.m.
Just what we need, another closed door, behind the scenes, undisclosed settlement, with no admission of guilt. That will make it ALL better. What a joke!
EthicsinLE on February 12 at 4:10 p.m.
Just curious, has the city agreed to pay Ofc. Thompsons punitive damages since they’ve been saying all along he did nothing wrong? They did it for Kirkpatrick when she got sued and lost.
Ed Byrnes on February 12 at 6:09 p.m.
Since any mediation must ultimately be approved by a judge, in this case a federal one, I am hoping that declaratory judgment and perhaps a consent decree are part of the final agreement. Such a declaratory judgment and consent decree would put teeth into police reform that were not there before since what we have so far is a non-binding resolution by the City Council.
Ed Byrnes
Mr_Injustice on February 12 at 6:32 p.m.
What a boost for the economy…give these people a couple of million and watch em throw it into our local economy as fast as they can.
greenlibertarian on February 12 at 6:42 p.m.
IMO, it was a slick trick/stunt to hoodwink the voters into believing he would really fire a few city hall officials involved in the cover-up (more especially Treppiedi). Everyone I know expected Condon to fire Roco Treppiedi immediately.
-Dick
Even a cursory amount of attention to Condon’s campaign, his utterances, and actions, would indicate Condon’s word was NOT his bond.
He jumped on a bandwagon and rode it to victory in the election.
I find it funny how pissed off people are about Condon on this matter. I knew, at BEST, he would HAVE to take months to get rid of Delany and Treppedi. They possess extraordinary information about the city’s various known and unknown peccadilloes. They can use that information against the new mayor with ease.
Ed Byrnes on February 12 at 9:21 p.m.
Long ago I wrote in one of these forums that Mr. Condon had sound bites but no policy statement. To date he still has issued no substantive policy statement on public safety, he offered a cute checklist the other day that discussed committees, commissions and such, but still no policy statement.
The closest thing we have to a policy statement comes from the City Council through a non-binding resolution introduced by Mr. Stuckart. I realize that a resolution cannot and does not legitimate policy in the way an ordinance does. Nonetheless the City Council, under Mr. Stuckart’s leadership, has at least offered a more detailed policy direction that may lead to actual changes in public safety.
Please do not take my statements about Mr. Condon as being favorable to Ms. Verner. My posting record will show that I considered her as complicit in the public safety travesties under her administration. It was difficult to express my contempt for her in temperate language.
We will have to see what Mr. Condon actually does from a policy standpoint, though being more effective at anything than Ms. Verner was is not much of an achievement.
Ed Byrnes
David Bray on February 12 at 10:53 p.m.
As the “greenlibertarian” stated, it takes time to remove any sitting city attorney. I have faith Mr. Condon will keep his word regarding Treppeidi ( damn, how IS his name spelled?), but it won’t happen on anyone’s timetable here…nor should it. I’m a bit troubled by the idea that any and all campaign promises are expected to be fulfilled within a short time of being elected Mayor.
Being Spokane’s Mayor isn’t a cakewalk. It takes a tremendous amount of time and to be effective and successful a working knowledge of how the multitude of departments perform their jobs.
Good grief, Obama’s been President for over 3 years and he hasn’t kept ANY of his campaign promises….but I bet a fair number of camp followers will vote for him again.
Give Mayor Condon about 6 months and I think most people will see results they can be pleased with…
ChiefsFan21 on February 13 at 12:34 a.m.
When Thompson is behind bars for awhile then the citizens will begin to heal their relationship with law enforcement.And not a minute before.