Twenty years after his killing, Spokane remembers Otto Zehm’s ‘gentle spirit, kind heart’

It is easy for Dave Turner to remember the day Otto Zehm was killed by Spokane police.

Not only were the men friends in the sixth grade who played video games together, but Zehm died on Turner’s birthday.

“A strange coincidence,” Turner said.

Turner celebrated his 56th birthday Friday evening at Mission Park by joining about 30 others who honored and remembered Zehm’s life on the 20th anniversary of his killing.

Zehm, a 36-year-old developmentally disabled janitor, was beaten, shocked and hogtied by police officers at a north Spokane Zip Trip after he was accused erroneously of theft.

“We come together not just to remember how Otto died, but to honor how he lived,” said Debbie Novak, whose son David Novak was shot and killed by Spokane police in 2019.

Novak, a member of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, said Zehm was a son, brother and friend to many.

“He was known for his gentle spirit and his kind heart,” Novak said. “Those who knew him remember his smile, his quiet nature and a simple humanity that defined his life. His life was taken in an encounter with police that should never have happened. What followed was not only a tragedy, but a long and painful journey for truth and accountability.”

The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, Citizen Nine26, Spokane Community Against Racism and the Spokane Human Rights Commission held the remembrance vigil for Zehm at Mission Park. A plaque that says, “IN MEMORY OF OTTO ZEHM” is posted at the gazebo. The park was a place Zehm frequented as a child, according to the organizations.

Rick Bocook, a chalk artist and activist, used his chalk skills to draw Zehm’s face on the concrete near the plaque.

A photo of Zehm with his birth date and death date was posted behind the more than 15 people who, one by one, took the microphone to reflect on Zehm and the monumental legal cases and transformative changes to police protocol and review that followed his death.

Zehm died two days after the March 18, 2006, violent encounter with police officers. At the Zip Trip convenience store, officers confronted Zehm, who was holding a soda bottle. They beat Zehm with a baton, shocked him with a stun gun and left him hogtied on the floor.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Zehm died of lack of oxygen to the brain and ruled the death a homicide.

A jury convicted Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr., the first responding officer that day, of needlessly beating Zehm and then lying about it to cover up his actions. Thompson was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison.

In May 2012, the Spokane City Council finalized a $1.67 million settlement with Zehm’s family.

Public outcry over Zehm’s death and others prompted outside review of the police department, changes to protocol and the creation of a police ombudsman position.

Novak said Zehm deserved dignity and compassion that day.

“We reflect on the pain carried by his family who have endured not just loss, but the weight of unanswered questions and hard truths,” she said.

“And we reflect on our responsibility as a community to ensure that what happened to Otto is never forgotten and never repeated. It’s not just about looking back, it’s about moving forward with purpose and asking what have we learned, what has changed and what still must change.”

Novak’s focus is on police reform and accountability, pushing for those bills in the state Legislature. She said Zehm’s name still comes up on a regular basis when talking about those bills.

“When we’re working on a bodycam bill, we talk about Otto Zehm,” she said.

Spokane attorneys Jeffry Finer and Breean Beggs, the latter of whom is now a Spokane County Superior Court judge, represented the Zehm family in a lawsuit against the city. Both spoke Friday.

Beggs, director for the Center for Justice at the time, said the Zehm case helped define his time in Spokane.

“Otto’s case when it first started was a hand-scrawled note from his mother Ann to a staff attorney at the Center for Justice that simply said, ‘I don’t think what they say happened, happened,’ ” Beggs said. “ ‘I knew my son. He was gentle. This could never have happened.’ ”

Finer said Spokane is a better town since the Zehm case.

“I think as the years go on, Otto’s name will not go away,” Finer said.

Some, like Anwar Peace, spoke Friday about the positive changes regarding police oversight that resulted from Zehm’s death and expressed support for Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall.

“Right now, Spokane is really blessed and honored to have a police chief that is forward thinking, that is using evidence-based policing to deal with the many wounds in our community that have been suffered by police violence here,” said Peace, a longtime police accountability activist.

Spokane City Councilors Kate Telis and Sarah Dixit also attended.

Telis, a former prosecutor, said she’s known Zehm’s name ever since she moved here.

“I think it’s very important we always balance the incredible power of (police’s) positions with responsibility and checks on that power,” Telis said. “And so I will always be for police accountability.”

Attendees could grab a Snickers bar from a table at the event Friday. The candy was Zehm’s favorite.

“Sadly, Otto just wanted a Snickers bar that day,” said Peace, holding the candy in his hand.

Novak said Zehm’s last known words were, “All I wanted was a Snickers bar.”