What’s next: Investigations, sentencing are pending

Now that Karl F. Thompson Jr. has been convicted for his confrontation with Otto Zehm, several other matters remain pending:

• Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick on Friday said that she would support a U.S. Department of Justice review of the “patterns and practices” of the Spokane Police Department, similar to the review under way at the Seattle Police Department after several controversial incidents there.

“All along, I have been open and willing to work with the FBI … and Department of Justice,” she said. “But I’m not in a position to confirm discussions that I have had.”

Mike Ormsby, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said he could not say whether his office has sought approval from Washington, D.C., to investigate if Spokane officers have engaged in a pattern of unnecessary force and biased policing.

Kirkpatrick has announced her intention to leave the department, but she said she would be willing to stay as long as it takes to find a new chief, regardless of who wins next week’s mayoral election.

• Federal prosecutors said during Thompson’s trial that an obstruction investigation remains against Spokane police Officer Sandy McIntyre. Victor Boutros, a Justice Department trial attorney, said in court testimony that McIntyre met with a city attorney before telling a federal grand jury that she could not recall most of what Thompson told her on the night of the incident. McIntyre, however, testified that she did have some recollections but felt intimidated by the FBI.

Her attorney, Rob Cossey, said before the trial he understood that the criminal investigation into McIntyre’s case was being put on hold until after Thompson’s verdict. Frank Harrill, supervisory senior resident agent for the local FBI office, said he could not comment about that investigation.

• On Monday, Thompson defense attorney Carl Oreskovich is expected to ask U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle to revoke Thompson’s detention and seek permission to query a juror who is alleged to have watched television coverage of the Zehm trial while at a hotel in Yakima. Oreskovich also indicated in a Friday court filing that he received an unsolicited email from an alternate juror who was surprised by the verdict. Thompson’s sentencing has not yet been scheduled, but it must occur within three months of the conviction.

Thomas Clouse and Meghann M. Cuniff