Police Department

SIIR Team Investigating Officer Involved Shooting

Cpl. Nick Briggs, PIO

Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at 1:36 p.m.

Update 2/16/24:

This is an update to the original SIIR press release put out by the Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team on December 15^th, 2021.  SIIR is sending out this release as the required weekly update regarding the incident that occurred on December 10, 2021 involving Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies. 

At this time, it is anticipated that the WSP lab results will be completed in April.

Update 12/22/21:

This is an update to the original SIIR press release put out by the Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team on December 15^th, 2021.  SIIR is sending out this release as the required weekly update regarding the incident that occurred on December 10, 2021 involving Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies. 

At this time, there is no new information available for release in this investigation. 

Original Release:

On December 10, 2021, at 2:53AM, Spokane County deputies were on patrol when they observed a suspicious vehicle in the area of E Euclid and N Cuba. Deputies performed a registration check and learned the license plate on the vehicle was stolen.

The vehicle fled almost immediately after noticing the deputy’s presence. Deputies did not pursue the vehicle.

At about 0259 hours deputies located the vehicle near N Havana and E Valley Springs Rd. Deputies contacted a female occupant and noticed another set of footprints in the snow indicating an additional person was outstanding.  

Deputies learned the identity of the outstanding party, including that the person had multiple active arrest warrants for crimes to include unlawful possession of a firearm and burglary.

Deputies began checking the area, utilizing the suspect’s footprints in the snow to guide their efforts. At about 5:06AM, deputies encountered the suspect near a residence in the 5400 block of E Bigelow Gulch Rd.  A deputy involved shooting occurred. Deputies rendered first aid, however the person succumbed to their injuries. The deputies were not injured.

Two rifles were recovered at the scene in close proximity to the subject.

The initial investigation indicates the suspect burglarized the property where the encounter took place during which time the suspect stole the weapons recovered at the scene. At this time, there is no indication the subject had any connection to the residence. The homeowners were not present at the time, and there were no injuries to uninvolved persons.

Per standard protocol, the Deputies who fired their service weapons were placed on administrative leave.

The investigation is in its preliminary stages. More information will be released as appropriate. The identity of the deceased will be released by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The SIIR Team is comprised of multiple agencies in eastern Washington, including the Spokane Police Department, Washington State Patrol, Spokane Valley Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.  As an involved agency, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office/Spokane Valley Police personnel will not be involved in this investigation in compliance with WAC 139-12.

• The Spokane Police Department is the case managing agency for this incident. All future communications will be sent via the SIIR Team.
• The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office will release the name of the deputies involved at a later time.
• Once the SIIR Team investigation is complete, the case will be forwarded to the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

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