Police Department

E Lyons OIS Incident

Cpl. Nick Briggs, PIO

Thursday, August 25, 2022 at 4:46 p.m.

Update 1/26/23:

Investigative findings submitted to Prosecutor’s Office On August 21st, 2022, a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputy used lethal force while attempting to apprehend a wanted suspect in the 1700 block of E Lyons Ave in Spokane, WA. The Spokane Independent Investigative Response team (SIIR) investigated the incident in accordance with Washington State law pertaining to peace officers utilizing lethal force. The Spokane Police Department was the managing agency for the SIIR investigation. Spokane Police Department detectives have submitted the investigative findings to the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office and debriefed the designated community member representatives. The Prosecutor’s Office will make a legal determination regarding the actions of the deputy during the incident. The information provided to the prosecutor’s office includes the report of the involved deputy, the report of the deputy present during the incident, reports of investigators, body-worn camera footage, surveillance camera footage, and forensic analysis. The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office will release their legal determination at a later date. This is the final SIIR release for this incident.

Original Release 8/25/22:

On 08-21-22 at about 6:25AM, a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputy obtained information a subject with outstanding felony warrants for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Assault 2^nd Degree, and Possession of Stolen Motor Vehicle was presently in a storage facility complex located in the 1700 block of E Lyons Ave.

Two Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the location and located the wanted subject’s truck parked between two buildings, each of which contained multiple storage units. One deputy approached the truck on foot, while another positioned a marked SCSO vehicle, with emergency lights activated, in front of the truck in an attempt to limit its avenue of escape.

At some point the wanted subject abruptly emerged from the bed of the pickup truck, acknowledged the deputies presence, and quickly entered the cab of the vehicle while ignoring commands from a deputy. The subject rapidly reversed his truck in the direction of the uniformed deputy, who was on foot, prompting that deputy to discharge his service weapon.

The suspect’s truck struck one of the storage facility buildings, causing substantial damage. The suspect was able to put the truck in drive and began moving forward, towards the deputy who was on foot and still confined by the parallel storage structures. The deputy discharged his duty weapon a second time in the direction of the suspect, and the vehicle came to a stop.

Medical assistance was immediately summoned by deputies. Law enforcement officers provided assistance until care was transferred to medical personnel. The suspect was subsequently transported to a local hospital, were he succumbed to his injuries on 08-24. The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the identity of the individual at a later date.

Per standard protocol, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office placed the Deputy who fired his service weapon on administrative leave.

SIIR investigators are collecting and reviewing evidence, to include video footage. There is body camera footage from the incident.

The investigation is in its preliminary stages. More information will be released as appropriate.

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 deputy involved.
• 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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