Otto Zehm

Otto Zehm, a Spokane man with schizophrenia who worked as a janitor, died after a confrontation with police at a North Side Zip Trip store in March 2006.

News > Spokane

Spokane police to get new full-body restraints to more safely detain suspects

UPDATED: Wed., May 24, 2023

Spokane police will soon have a new tool to restrain and immobilize people who are under arrest.

News > Crime/Public Safety

After 32 years of prosecution, including MLK bombing suspect and Otto Zehm trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Harrington retires

Sun., Jan. 22, 2023

When Joe Harrington took a job at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Eastern Washington in September 1990, he figured he'd get some trial experience under his belt and then move on to private practice.

News > Spokane

People for Effective Government panel talks police reform years after Otto Zehm death

UPDATED: Thu., June 10, 2021

A People for Effective Government panel discussed on Wednesday how the Spokane Police Department has evolved since the 2006 killing of Otto Zehm.

News > Spokane

Center for Justice, nonprofit law firm in Spokane that fought for police accountability and environmental cleanup, to close permanently

UPDATED: Tue., March 17, 2020

The Center, which started in 1999, will close for good next week due to “numerous barriers to our sustainability,” Executive Director Dainen Penta wrote Tuesday.

News > Spokane

Mother of Otto Zehm leaves legacy of police reform after her death

UPDATED: Sat., March 2, 2019

Anna A. Zehm never sought exposure. But her fierce crusade for justice following the unlawful arrest, beating and death of her son, Otto, became a yearslong public campaign for better police training in Spokane.

News > Spokane

Sue Lani Madsen: Time to discard outdated stereotypes about mental health

Sat., Nov. 11, 2017

While the struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder is real, the stereotype of mental illness as the cause of violence is not. It’s a cringe-inducing link for those who know and love someone who lives with a mental health diagnosis. On Veterans Day, we honor all those who served and came back. Time to honor our veterans further by laying to rest a destructive stereotype, the myth of the veteran as a “ticking time bomb.”

News > Spokane

Harrington to serve as Acting U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington

UPDATED: Mon., March 13, 2017

Longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Harrington will serve as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington after Mike Ormsby was asked last Friday to resign by President Donald Trump’s administration.

News > Spokane

Craig Meidl faces political, salute-related challenges in bid for chief job

Sun., Aug. 21, 2016

Craig Meidl will have to overcome a City Council that is at odds with the mayor over hiring authority and some members of the public still furious about his involvement in a courtroom salute of Karl Thompson to be confirmed as Spokane’s next police chief.

Opinion > Column

Doug Clark: Condon’s police chief pick is beyond a blunder – it’s egregious

Wed., Aug. 3, 2016

Craig Meidl, Spokane Mayor David Condon’s ambush appointment for police chief, is now really, really sorry for being one of the four dozen SPD goons who, in 2011, saluted convicted felon Karl Thompson Jr. in federal court.

Opinion > Column

Doug Clark: Zehm didn’t die in obscurity, thanks to unsung heroes

Wed., March 16, 2016

With the 10th anniversary of the beating of Otto Zehm upon us, it’s time to thank some of the unsung heroes who kept him from dying in obscurity.

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Blog Posts

News > Spokane

SPD Chief Craig Meidl’s full answer about the Karl Thompson salute

Tue., Aug. 2, 2016

Newly-appointed Spokane police Chief Craig Meidl offered an apology for the hurt caused by his salute of former officer Karl Thompson following Thompson's conviction for violating civil rights in the death of Otto Zehm.

News > Spokane