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Morale shaken in Spokane's Thin Blue Line.
SPOKANE -- It's been a tough week for the Spokane Police Department after one of their most respected officers was indicted by a grand jury for using excessive force against Otto Zehm three years ago.
Rank and file officers are reeling from the indictment of one of their own by the federal grand jury and just like any football team that has a good offense but can't seem to win a game the department has had their confidence shaken.
"He's the poster child of policing .if you want a picture of a professional officer it's Karl," Spokane Police Department Chaplain Ron Alter said.
Karl Thompson is so respected by his fellow officers that when Chief Roger Bragdon resigned the rank and file circulated a petition asking that Thompson, a patrolman, be elevated to take his place.
"They wanted him to at least put in his application as chief," Chaplain Alter said. "He certainly had the experience and background for it."
Thompson, who turns 62 later this week, is a hostage negotiator, one of the officers who tries to de-escalate tense situations in the hopes of avoiding the use of force. That's one reason why police find it so ironic Thompson is accused of unnecessarily beating and tasering Otto Zehm.
"He has the utmost respect from everybody in the department, it doesn't matter what your rank is," Officer John Gately said.
"He loves policing, he loves to be out there helping people and so he does it," Chaplain Alter said.
Chaplain Alter had coffee with Thompson Wednesday morning, but instead of complaining about his indictment Thompson's more worried about his upcoming trial from distracting other officers from their duties.
"He's encouraged the guys to keep doing your job the way you're trained to do it the best way we know how and the safest way we know how and that's his message to us," Officer Gately said.
Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick says she respects the grand jury's decision to have Thompson stand trial but believes he did not use excessive force on Otto Zehm or she would fired or suspended him.
Meanwhile there are others in Spokane who think police murdered Otto Zehm and that the incident is a sign the department needs independent oversight.
On Thursday the Peace and Justice Action League is staging a rally at City Hall and demanding that the city's new ombudsman have the authority to launch his own investigations into officer misconduct.
"What we deserve is to know is that our police officers are absolutely trustworthy and police officers deserve to know that the community trusts them. Police accountability is better for police and it's better for the community," Liz Moore with the Peace and Justice Action League said.
The rally will be held Thursday at 5 PM at City Hall.
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