Sunday, November 22, 2009

ONGOING COVERAGE: FATAL CONFRONTATION BETWEEN SPOKANE POLICE AND OTTO ZEHM

Editorial

Our View: A good, sad change

: New police rules good; story behind them tragic

Related information Read more

March 21, 2007

People who lose loved ones to tragedy or to illness, and then use their energy to educate others about ways to prevent similar tragedies or cure those illnesses, are lauded in our society.

Think of child safety awareness raised by John Walsh, father of Adam, a 6-year-old abducted from a mall and brutally beheaded in 1981. Or think of Susan G. Komen, who died of breast cancer in 1982. Her sister's promise to do something about breast cancer has led to more than 100 "races for the cure" nationally and internationally.

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Your loved ones' deaths were not in vain, people tell these activist survivors. And how noble you are to channel your grief for the common good. All well and good, but those grieving people will tell you they would give it all up to have their loved ones back for just one day.

Otto Zehm dwelled in what some might consider the margins of Spokane society. He worked as a janitor. He had mental illness issues. A year ago, Zehm was Tasered, hogtied and placed in a plastic mask by Spokane police during a confrontation.

His death left family and friends throughout Spokane grieving. But now, Zehm's death will lead to improved education and awareness for the area's first responders – police, firefighters, dispatchers and ambulance drivers.

Monday, Spokane Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick and Fire Chief Bobby Williams announced changes in protocol and training. Revised limits will be placed on Taser use. Hoods will replace the plastic masks. First responders will study how mental illness issues play out in emergency calls and ways to more effectively recognize "excited delirium" – a still-controversial state of paranoia and agitation that can result in violent resistance by suspects.

The protocol changes and training will begin Friday.

Center for Justice attorney Breean Beggs said, "I applaud them asking, 'What can we do better in the future?' This is good news for everyone."

In an ideal society, preventive measures against such things as disease and child abuse would surface naturally, the result of efforts by caring people to do the right thing. But in our attention-deficit society, it often takes a tragedy, centered on one human being, to wake people up. Christopher Reeve, for instance, brought a superman's clout to spinal cord injury education.

And so, a year after Zehm's death, some good changes will come about in the form of more training, better education and increased understanding of people with mental illnesses.

All well and good, but those who loved and still miss Otto Zehm might tell you this: We'd rather have him back among us for even just one day.