Thomas Clouse

A lawyer representing the city of Spokane argued for the first time Friday that Otto Zehm was suffering from “excited delirium” before his 2006 confrontation with police, making it a pre-existing mental condition that therefore justified the level of force used to detain him. Up until the legal argument Friday by Carl Oreskovich, who was hired by the city to defend Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr., police officials had listed excited delirium as a contributing factor to Zehm’s death. But Oreskovich said Zehm had been off his medication for paranoid schizophrenia for weeks before he walked into the Zip Trip at 1712 N. Division St. on March 18, 2006.

A lawyer for the City of Spokane argued today that Otto Zehm was suffering from “excited delirium” before the 2006 encounter with Spokane police that led to his death, causing “extraordinary” strength and stamina and explaining why Zehm allegedly refused police commands to drop a soda pop bottle.

About 40 people chanted and held signs Thursday to remember the fourth anniversary of the confrontation with Spokane police that left unarmed shopper Otto Zehm fatally injured. The gathering was sponsored by the Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane at the Zip Trip, 1712 N. Division St., where Officer Karl Thompson confronted the 36-year-old, mentally ill janitor after two young women erroneously reported that he had stolen money from a nearby ATM.

A Spokane Valley bar owner pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of vehicular homicide and hit-and-run in connection with a crash that killed a bicyclist earlier this month. Scott C. Reckord, 49, appeared in Spokane County Superior Court with his attorney, Carl Oreskovich. The initial trial date, which attorneys acknowledged was not likely to be met, was set for June 7.

A federal judge ruled this morning that the city of Spokane will not be on the hook if a civil suit proceeds against former Spokane Police Officer James “Jay” Olsen, who shot Shonto Pete in the head during a drunken chase in February 2007.

Get ready for the bomb swab. The Transportation Security Administration announced Wednesday that passengers at Spokane International Airport can expect new security measures on their way to departing flights.

Spokane Valley Police continue to search for a suspect who on Saturday night fired a shot through an apartment wall that struck the metal post of the bed where a 3-year-old girl was sleeping. The girl’s mother found the bullet when she pulled back the girl’s covers to check on her after the shooting and the bullet fell to the floor, Spokane Valley Police spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said in news release.

A Spokane man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he molested two girls in 2006. Robert E. Brocklehurst, 32, faces one count of rape of a child in the first degree, child molestation in the first degree and second-degree child molestation.

A new weather system has parked itself off the Pacific Coast, and it’s expected to send waves of moisture to the Spokane region including snow tonight, according to the National Weather Service.

By his own accounting, Ronald Reo Timm molested 24 girls in Spokane. The crimes took place decades ago, and Timm, 60, has spent 13 years behind bars after being convicted of first-degree rape of a child.