Police Department

Violent Confrontation at Walmart Leads to Officer Involved Shooting

Sgt. Stephen Anderson, PIO

Monday, December 4, 2023 at 9:15 a.m.

Violent confrontation at north Spokane Walmart leads to officer involved shooting, one suspect deceased.

On December 3^rd, 2023 at approximately 9:30am, an SPD officer was working a shoplifting prevention special at the Walmart located at 9212 N. Colton Street.

The officer became aware of an individual attempting to shoplift merchandise from the Walmart and requested the assistance of another officer prior to approaching the suspect. A backup officer arrived on scene and the officers approached the suspect, as he began to exit the store past all points of sale.

Upon the officers approaching the suspect a physical confrontation ensued, which was prolonged in duration. Preliminary information suggests TASER applications were attempted, but the physical confrontation between the officers and the suspect continued.

Just prior to 10:20am, an officer involved shooting occurred. Life-saving first-aid measures were rendered, however the individual succumbed to his injuries.

During the initial stages of the preliminary investigation, officers recovered what appeared to be a firearm and ammunition. The officers sustained minor injuries during the physical encounter, and at least one officer was evaluated further at a local hospital.

The Officer-Involved Protocol was enacted, and the Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team (SIIR Team) responded to the scene.  Their investigation is in its preliminary stages and additional information will be released as appropriate.

The identity of the deceased, along with cause and manner of death, 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.

Per standard protocol, the Spokane Police Officer who fired his weapon was placed on incident review leave. Officers were equipped with body cameras at the time of the incident.

Thankfully no uninvolved citizens or store employees were injured during this incident.

As an involved agency, the Spokane Police Department personnel will not be involved in this investigation in compliance with WAC 139-12.

-The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is the case managing agency for this incident.

-All future communications will be sent via the SIIR Team.

-The Spokane Police Department will release the name of the officers 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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