Police Department

Officers Injured in Violent Encounter with Domestic Violence Suspect

Cpl. Teresa Fuller

Sunday, January 20, 2019 at 2:32 p.m.

For the second time in less than a week, several officers were injured in a violent encounter with a domestic violence suspect. One of the officers required treatment at an area hospital, but has since been released. Jacob Wiswell (35) was booked for Felony Harassment (Threats to Kill)-Domestic Violence and may be facing additional charges relating to the incident.

This morning, January 20, 2019, just after 9:00am, Spokane Police responded to the report of Wiswell, armed with a knife, attempting to force entry into a relative’s home in the 2000 block of west Broadway. Officers were in the area quickly and located Wiswell walking eastbound on Broadway. Wiswell was given numerous commands by officers and ignored all of them. Taser deployments were ineffective, so the officers on scene went hands on with Wiswell to take him into custody. During the struggle one officer injured his knee so badly, he was transported by ambulance to the hospital. Other officers received minor injuries that did not require treatment. Wiswell was uninjured and was booked into jail on the above charge. He still had the knife the victim had seen him with when he was searched by officers during the arrest.

During both of these violent encounters (the first one being the Jan. 15^th incident with Aaron Aamodt), Tasers were ineffective and there was little to no time to deescalate the situation due to the suspects’ own actions. While the suspects were successfully taken into custody, both encounters were rapidly evolving, potentially lethal encounters that officers face all too often. If you know someone in crisis, there is help. Frontier Behavioral Health recently launched a 24/7 Regional Crisis Line at 1-877-266-1818. For more information, visit their website at  https://fbhwa.org/programs/crisis-response/24-7-regional-behavioral-health-crisis-line . As always, for emergencies, call 9-1-1.

• Newer
• Older