Otto Zehm

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 attention-seeking police apologist who lied to federal investigators and whose misguided concerns of prosecutorial misconduct are meritless.

Former Seattle police Chief Norm Stamper told a Spokane crowd Thursday that he wasn’t knowledgeable enough about the city’s most infamous case of recent police misconduct to offer much meaningful commentary on it. But he said he understood the Otto Zehm case enough to know that police officers who saluted Karl F. Thompson Jr., the officer convicted last year for using excessive force against Zehm, were insulting to Zehm’s family.

Spokane City Attorney Howard Delaney, under fire for his handling of the Otto Zehm case and more recently its negotiated settlement to rehire an alcoholic police sergeant who fled from a drunken crash, is no longer the city’s chief legal counsel, according to several City Hall sources and others.

Use of force panel holds 1st meeting

Judge grants Thompson interview request

A federal judge Friday granted a request by the attorney for former Spokane police officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. to allow lawyers to interview a government expert witness who claims that federal prosecutors mischaracterized his expected testimony. The move further delays the sentencing of Thompson, who was convicted Nov. 3 of using excessive force and lying to cover up his actions during the March 18, 2006, confrontation with Otto Zehm, who died two days later.

In the first significant step toward a possible settlement, Spokane city leaders and attorneys representing the mother and estate of Otto Zehm announced late Thursday that they will enter mediation to settle the civil suit filed over his death. “It’s time to move this long-standing case toward resolution, and mediation provides a tremendous opportunity to resolve this case outside of court,” Mayor David Condon said in a news release. “Resolving the Zehm suit is a high priority for me and our community.”

A look at Spokane police use of force

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 janitor Otto Zehm was indefensible, the department’s own instructors and the city’s legal advisers have insisted that Spokane police officers were justified and handled the encounter appropriately. Here is how Spokane police Officer Terry Preuninger, a department training instructor, defended Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr.’s decision to beat and shock the retreating Zehm: “If the officer believes that they were in danger, then that use of force would be authorized,” Preuninger told a federal jury in October, adding that there doesn’t have to be a “factual basis” for the officer’s fear of harm.

Jury convicts man of threatening officer

Cop questioned over Thompson support

A Spokane police officer who says he feared for his life after being threatened by a felon was asked in court Wednesday about supportive comments he posted on a Facebook page in support of another convicted felon – former Officer Karl Thompson. Defense lawyer Doug Phelps questioned Officer Chris McMurtrey’s contention that 38-year-old Rudy Ray Cordova’s prior convictions for violent crimes were a cause for concern, noting that Thompson has been convicted of a violent crime, too. Cordova is standing trial for threats he made to McMurtrey while McMurtrey was arresting him last year.