Verification of Logging Tape Is Very Complicated

Three words are missing—or at least temporarily lost—from a 911 call made back in 2006 by a woman who saw a suspicious man she believed was trying to steal money from a gas station ATM. Police arrived to confront the suspect, and ended up Tasering the man, who later died. Now the man’s family has filed a federal lawsuit claiming police violated the rights of Otto Zehm, who was mentally ill and not trying to steal money. The 911 call was answered by a Spokane County dispatcher, who briefly talked to the caller and transferred her to the Spokane police. During the call, the witness may have said, “He’s on something.” But logging tapes of the two calls were never released together because of the two jurisdictions, and printed transcripts of the two calls were released with different versions, one without the three words. All parties are now scouring Web sites that might have posted full transcripts of both calls shortly after the incident. Read the complex story here.