Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Clark: Thompson juror deserves kudos for speaking out

  August 9, 2012 in City on Page A5 Please join me as I declare today – Aug. 9, 2012 – Diane Riley Appreciation Day. You still have to go to work, of course. City garbage pickups will continue … 59

• Doug Clark: Many wrongs, one big right in Zehm case

  May 17, 2012 in City on Page A5 Repentance is a concept normally relegated to cathedrals, chapels and bar stools just before closing time. But on Tuesday afternoon, a downtown mediation court was the sanctuary where the city … 24

• Feds dispute misconduct allegations in Zehm case

  March 31, 2012 in City on Page A1 The U.S. attorney’s office on Friday said allegations of prosecutorial misconduct by a forensic videographer – charges that have indefinitely stalled the sentencing of former Spokane police Officer Karl F. … 20

• Feds: Misconduct claims in Zehm trial meritless

  March 30, 2012 in City, News The forensic videographer, whose allegations of prosecutorial misconduct have indefinitely stalled the sentencing of former Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson, Jr., is depicted in new court documents as an … 16

• Karl Thompson seeks new trial in Otto Zehm case

  March 20, 2012 in City on Page A5 Former Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. wants a new trial because an expert witness now claims a federal prosecutor bullied him, and he alleges for the first time … 65

• Editorial: Settlement with Zehms would let healing start

  February 12, 2012 in Opinion on Page B8 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 … 14

• Panel will review police policies, procedures

  February 5, 2012 in City on Page A1 To understand why the Spokane Police Department’s use-of-force training is under a microscope, consider this disconnect: Although the state’s top police trainer concluded that the fatal 2006 confrontation with unarmed … 52

• Verner looks back at trials, triumphs

  December 29, 2011 in City on Page A1 Spokane Mayor Mary Verner will leave office at the end of the week as the city’s longest serving strong mayor of the four who have served in that capacity. But … 17

• Spokane police officer convicted of excessive force, lying

    November 3, 2011 in City on Page A1 YAKIMA – His jaw quivering at times, Karl F. Thompson Jr. stared straight ahead Wednesday, showing nothing but a stern look as juror after juror confirmed the guilty verdicts they’d … 83

• Quotes regarding the Thompson verdict

  November 3, 2011 in City on Page A10 U.S. Attorney Mike Ormsby: “This is not an indictment of our entire Police Department and it should not be an excuse for any of us to ignore the good work … 3

• Timeline since March 2006, when Zehm was beaten

  November 3, 2011 in City on Page A10 • March 18, 2006: Otto Zehm, 36, a mentally ill janitor, is beaten, shocked with a Taser and hog-tied inside a North Side Zip Trip convenience store by seven Spokane …

• Clark: This time, the jury got it exactly right

  November 3, 2011 in City on Page A1 It takes a lot to get to a guy like me. Many journalists hide behind a shield of cynicism, and I’ve had 37 years of practice. 44

• Conviction likely to bring changes at department

    November 3, 2011 in City on Page A11 The conviction of Officer Karl Thompson could mean a significant shift in the running and politics of the Spokane Police Department, some city officials and police accountability advocates said after … 7

• Thompson convicted on both counts

    November 2, 2011 in City, News A jury today convicted Spokane Police Offier Karl F. Thompson Jr. of needlessly beating Otto Zehm and then lying about it to cover up his actions. 208

• Doug Clark: There’s a stink in the courtroom and the hotel room

  October 30, 2011 in City on Page B1 Karl Thompson’s version of what happened when he took down Otto Zehm sounds like one of those melees that are staple to TV cop shows. Barking orders. Officer-and-suspect squaring off. … 41

• Police training expert defends use of force

  October 27, 2011 in City on Page A5 YAKIMA – One of the Spokane Police Department’s top trainers told a jury Wednesday that any situation could justify an officer’s use of force, even taking a burglary report in … 41

• Defense launches its case

  October 25, 2011 in City on Page A5 YAKIMA – After nearly two weeks of critical prosecution testimony, defense attorneys for Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. opened their case Monday with a medical doctor who told … 19

• Three testify Thompson clubbed Zehm in head

  October 19, 2011 in City For the first time since the trial of Spokane Police Office Karl F. Thompson Jr. began last week, federal prosecutors walked out of the William O. Douglas federal courthouse this … 31

• Officer said deadly force not required for Zehm

  October 14, 2011 in City After the encounter that led to Otto Zehm’s death, Spokane police Officer Karl Thompson told an investigator he didn’t feel deadly force was needed against the suspect. 18

• Feds ask judge to keep Zehm trial in Spokane

    October 5, 2011 in City, News A federal prosecutor has asked a judge to reconsider his Tuesday decision to move the upcoming criminal trial of Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. to Yakima. But defense … 14

• Zehm trial will be moved to Yakima

  October 4, 2011 in City, News A federal judge Tuesday moved the upcoming criminal trial of Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. to Yakima after defense attorneys had raised concerns about the extent of local … 58

• Timeline of events in Otto Zehm case

  August 21, 2011 in City on Page B7 • March 18, 2006: Otto Zehm, 36, a mentally ill and unemployed janitor, is beaten, Tasered and hogtied inside a Zip Trip convenience store by seven Spokane police officers after … 17

• Many things Jim Nicks didn’t do in Zehm case

  August 19, 2011 in City on Page A5 Jim Nicks has taken a lot of heat lately, as well he should, for his role in the Otto Zehm case. Today, though, I come not to bury Nicks, but … 45

• Verner re-evaluating city stance on Zehm

    August 9, 2011 in City, News Spokane Mayor Mary Verner today acknowledged that the city is re-evaluating its legal position in the Otto Zehm controversy after new court documents indicate officers violated departmental policies in the … 56

• Clark: Thompson trial leaving out important truths about Zehm

  March 27, 2011 in City on Page B1 Let’s make believe that you’re on the jury in the federal criminal trial against Karl F. Thompson Jr. Presuming it ever happens, of course. 69

• Otto Zehm’s innocence not part of evidence, court rules

  March 24, 2011 in City A jury likely will not learn that Otto Zehm was innocent of a crime when he was confronted by a Spokane Police officer in a fatal encounter five years ago, … 29

• Delay likely in Zehm case

    December 18, 2010 in City on Page B1 The criminal case against Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. now has a slim chance of proceeding in March after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday … 7

• 9th agrees to expedite review of Zehm appeal

    December 17, 2010 The criminal case against Spokane Police Office Karl F. Thompson Jr. now has a slim chance of proceeding in March after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday … 9

• Judge finds no conflict in Thompson defense

    May 25, 2010 in City A federal judge has ruled that he did not find a conflict of interest in how private attorney Carl Oreskovich has defended Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr., and …

• Smart Bombs: Incarceration wave hits U.S.

  May 9, 2010 in Opinion on Page B8 In debating the price and necessity of jails (see the opposite page), it helps to know the national context. With the spending surge on criminal justice since the 1990s, you’d … 6