Otto Zehm was a much-beloved, 36-year-old janitor with a history of struggles with mental illness when he was violently subdued by Spokane police in a north Spokane convenience store on March 18, 2006. He died two days later. He had 
committed no crime and the evidence suggests he had only gone into the store to buy a bottle of pop and a candy bar. The Center for Justice has represented Otto’s mother, Anne, and the Otto Zehm estate since the spring of 2006. On their behalf, CFJ filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on March 13, 2009 against the City of Spokane, its current Assistant Police Chief, and eight police officers. The lawsuit alleges Otto’s rights were violated both in the way Spokane police used unwarranted deadly force, and by the City’s concerted efforts after the fatal encounter to try to portray Otto as the instigator of the violent measures police employed to try to arrest him.
On June 22, 2009, Jim McDevitt, the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington, announced that Spokane police office Karl F. Thompson, Jr., had been indicted by a federal grand jury for criminal violations of Otto Zehm’s civil rights and for falsifying records in an attempt to “impede, obstruct, or interfere” with the federal investigation into Otto Zehm’s death. The Justice Department is continuing its criminal investigation and has clearly indicated in court filings that additional Spokane police officers are being investigated for possible criminal charges in the case. The criminal case against Officer Thompson is currently on hold pending an Justice Department appeal to the U.S. Ninth Circuit of a procedural ruling by the trial court. Trial in the civil suit brought by the Center is on hold pending a date for the criminal trial.
The Center for Justice has been reporting on this website about the Otto Zehm case since March of 2008. You can link to the following stories, below, by clicking on their titles.
“Memorial With a Message,” March 18, 2010.
“Officer Thompson’s New Beat,” (special report from Bill Morlin), October 7, 2009.
“Pound Sand,” September 24, 2009.
“Blunt Force Trauma,” September 23, 2009.
Tangling with Treppiedi, September 16, 2009.
The Tipping Point?, June 25, 2009.
Randy & Rocky, June 22, 2009.
The Indictment, June 22, 2009.
On Behalf of Otto Zehm, March 15, 2009.
Center Files Suit in the Case of Otto Zehm, March 13, 2009.
Remembering Otto Zehm, March 20, 2008.
To read the Justice Department’s most recent timeline of the Otto Zehm case and handling of the case by Spokane police and city officials here.
To read the Center for Justice’s Second Amended Complaint in the Otto Zehm civil case, click here.