Decision near in firehouse sex case

With a growing number of high-profile cases involving police and other public safety officials stacking up, Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker said Friday he’s close to deciding whether criminal charges should be filed in one of them.

Tucker, in a rare office interview, said he will announce by the end of next week if former Spokane firefighter Daniel W. Ross will face any criminal charges in connection with a photographed sexual encounter Jan. 29 with a 16-year-old girl at a local fire station.

That decision also will address whether Detective Neil Gallion and Sgt. Joe Peterson should face any criminal charges for directing Ross to delete digital photographs he had taken of the girl. Because the sexual encounter was consensual, the detectives initially concluded that no crime had been committed.

But public outcry over the Spokane Police Department’s handling of the investigation, particularly the young age of the girl and the destruction of photographic evidence, prompted authorities to order a broader probe.

The firehouse encounter is just one of five pending investigations awaiting a final decision from Tucker. The other four involve the deaths of criminal suspects during confrontations with law enforcement officers.

Tucker said he understands that the public wants quick resolutions to investigations involving employees whose jobs include a great deal of public trust. But to be complete, Tucker said, he waits until the full investigation is done before he proceeds.

“If I just reacted from what I’d heard, it wouldn’t be good for anybody,” he said. “I want to see the whole thing.”

“The case closest to resolution involves Ross. Tucker’s office received the investigation last week after once sending it back to detectives to get more information.

Already Tucker has had Deputy Prosecutors Jack Driscoll and Ed Hay review the case. And Deputy Prosecutor Kelly Fitzgerald should be done with her examination of the files by Tuesday, he said. While 16 is the age of consent for sex in Washington, it’s illegal to possess pornographic pictures of youths under the age of 18.

“I wanted three opinions before I decide so I can help explain it better when the cameras are popping,” Tucker said. “None of the three have told me where they are with it. I asked them to write down some notes.”

As for Peterson and Gallion, they could face the charge of tampering with evidence after they instructed Ross to delete the pornographic images of the girl. But that possible charge would be a misdemeanor, which would have to be charged by City Prosecutor Howard Delaney, Tucker said.

“We talked to the city prosecutor and told him that you have to take this on if that’s where this goes,” Tucker said. “The city asked if we would take it.”

Although he could agree to handle the case, Tucker said he would not.

“We work with major crimes detectives so much it would be hard for us to prosecute” the possible charge, he said. “And one of the detectives is a personal friend. I’ve known Joe (Peterson) since junior high.”

Tucker said he expects that a neighboring prosecutor may have to take the case if Gallion or Peterson is charged.

“The medical examiner’s report is expected soon for 36-year-old Otto Zehm, an unarmed mentally disabled janitor who died March 18 after a scuffle with police officers at a Zip Trip convenience store on North Division.

Spokane police Officers Karl Thompson and Steven Braun Jr. were the first two of seven officers who arrived at the store to investigate a report of a possible robbery. Both Braun and Thompson used their Tasers, and Thompson also used a police baton in their efforts to restrain Zehm, police said. Both officers returned to their normal duties within days of the incident.

Police agreed to release a video that reportedly captured at least part of the scuffle. But Tucker wants it kept private until the investigation is complete.

“I was not keeping this secret,” Tucker said of the tape. “That tape is evidence. Somebody needs to get a fair trial if something comes out of that” investigation.

“The probe into the Jan. 29 death of 39-year-old Benites S. Sichiro has been returned to the detectives for more investigation, Tucker said.

Sichiro died after three violent encounters with eight jailers who struck him with their knees and fists and jolted him with Tasers. One of the jailers administered what’s called a backwards “donkey kick” on Sichiro, who died from a lacerated liver.

The Spokane County medical examiner determined the cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the torso. All of the involved deputies have returned to work except the one who administered the donkey kick. That corrections deputy, John Elam, has since been hired by the Spokane Police Department.

“Tucker had no information, or recollection for that matter, of the Feb. 2 shooting of 29-year-old Dustin M. Lowe by Deputy Thomas Edelbrock.

Tucker checked with Driscoll, who does all the reviews of these types of cases, but neither had seen any reports on the Lowe shooting.

“We haven’t got it yet,” Tucker said after calling Driscoll. “If it happened in February, it probably should be here by now.”

Attempts to reach major crimes detectives for both the city and the county were unsuccessful Friday afternoon.

The case started when Deputy Edelbrock approached Lowe, who was parked in a stolen car near Medical Lake.

Lowe, of Billings, Mont., previously was shot in 2003 when he told deputies that he had a gun and moved his arm as if he was reaching for it. When Edelbrock approached on Feb. 2, he took a pocket knife off Lowe just before a dispatcher radioed back that his car was reported stolen.

Lowe then fled on foot into the field toward North Silver Lake. Edelbrock followed and several times Lowe stopped and pointed both hands as if he had a gun. Edelbrock, who saw no weapon, did not fire, according to official accounts of the encounter.

Edelbrock lost Lowe for a time, and when he appeared, he aimed what appeared from 35 feet away to be a gun. Edelbrock fired twice, hitting Lowe once behind the right ear. What the deputy thought was a gun turned out to be a silver-handled flashlight.

“The most recent case came Wednesday when a Texas trucker hauling Gatorade died after he fought with Spokane police.

Roger D. Hanks, 40, died after a low-speed chase in his Peterbilt tractor trailer that ended just after 3 a.m. at Riverside and Division.

Hanks, who police said weighed more than 300 pounds and had been injecting methamphetamines, refused to get out of the truck even after officers sent in a police dog. Officers physically removed Hanks from the cab, and he reportedly engaged the officers in hand-to-hand combat.

The 12 to 13 officers who responded did not use Tasers, batons, pepper spray or any other weapons and were able to handcuff him at about 3:20 a.m., police said.

A moment later, the officers called for paramedics because Hanks was suffering from obvious medical problems. He died at Sacred Heart Medical Center, but the autopsy later Wednesday did not reveal any obvious cause of death.