Police Department

SPD involved in an Officer Involved Shooting at Shadle Walmart

Officer Joshua Laiva #1231

Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at 8:24 p.m.

Spokane Police Officers were involved in an Officer Involved Shooting incident this evening. Two officers fired their service weapons striking the suspect.

No officers or other civilians were injured during this incident. The incident is being investigated by the Spokane Investigative Regional Response (SIRR) Team.

Today October 4, 2017, just after 4:45 p.m., Spokane Police officers were involved in an Officer Involved Shooting (OIS) in the parking lot of the Shadle Walmart, 2301 W. Wellesley Ave. In the parking lot, officers located a 1994 Ford Explorer stolen in a carjacking and shooting two days ago in the area of the 8200 block of N. Crestline St. The owner of the stolen vehicle was hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds as a result of the carjacking.

Once the stolen vehicle was located, officers waited nearby maintaining surveillance on the vehicle and waiting for other officers to respond. Officers observed that the Ford Explorer was occupied. Due to the vehicle already being involved in a carjacking and shooting which hospitalized one person, officers moved in to block the Explorer from any escape route, stop any potential pursuits, and limit any potential safety threats to the community. Based on the previous shooting and carjacking, officers on scene believed the driver of the Explorer may be armed. Officers gave commands to the occupants of the vehicle. The passenger cooperated with the officers’ commands and exited the Explorer. Officers gave commands to the suspect who was armed, and two officers fired their service weapons striking the male suspect. The remaining suspects were detained, and officers began life saving measures. Spokane Fire Department personnel who were previously staged in the area immediately continued treatment, however the suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene. A gun was located in the vicinity of the suspect.

The identity of the suspect will be released by the Spokane Medical Examiner’s Office.

At least one Officer on scene was equipped with a body worn video camera. Any footage captured by the body camera, as well as any captured by cameras in the area, will be reviewed by investigators.

The Officer Involved Protocol was enacted. The SIRR Team is on-scene investigating the incident. The SIRR Team is comprised of multiple agencies in eastern Washington, including the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, the Spokane Valley Police Department, the Washington State Patrol, and the Spokane Police Department.

• The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is the case managing agency in this incident. All future communications on this incident will be sent via the SIRR Team.
• The Spokane Police Department will release the names of the officers involved in this incident.
• Once the SIRR Team investigation is complete the case will be forwarded to the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

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