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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Otto Zehm

Otto Zehm, a Spokane man with schizophrenia who worked as a janitor, died after a confrontation with police at a North Side Zip Trip store in March 2006.

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News >  Spokane

U.S. marshals take convicted Thompson into custody

Nearly 50 Spokane police officers saluted convicted Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. in federal court as U.S. marshals led him away Friday, prompting Mayor Mary Verner and police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick to apologize for their actions. A Yakima jury Wednesday convicted Thompson of using excessive force and lying to cover up his attack on 36-year-old Otto Zehm in 2006. On Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge James Hutton ruled that Thompson must immediately be detained despite arguments by defense attorney Carl Oreskovich that he will seek a new trial for alleged juror misconduct.
News >  Spokane

Karl Thompson taken into custody

U.S. Marshals took convicted Spokane Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. into custody today after a federal judge ruled that his detention is appropriate pending sentencing for using excessive force on Otto Zehm and lying to cover it up.
News >  Spokane

Defense to seek new trial

A federal judge delayed a decision whether to take convicted Spokane police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. into custody after his defense attorney said Thursday that he will seek a new trial based on allegations of juror misconduct. Carl Oreskovich, Thompson’s attorney, said he witnessed jurors watching TV reports of the trial while it was under way.
News >  Spokane

Timeline since March 2006, when Zehm was beaten

• 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 police officers after being wrongly identified as a suspect in a possible theft. Acting police Chief Jim Nicks says Zehm was combative and “lunged” at the first officer on the scene, Karl Thompson. Officers say Zehm has a prior arrest for assaulting a police officer. • March 20, 2006: Zehm dies at Deaconess Medical Center. Police acknowledge that the potential theft report that led to the confrontation was unfounded.
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