Spokane7
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April 26, 2010 in City
Prosecutor’s office: Police shooting justified
Spokane Valley police officers were justified when they shot a man reported to be suicidal in December, the Spokane County Prosecutors Office has ruled.
Officers Scott Bonney, Darell Stidham, Walter Loucks and Griffin Criswell attempted to fire on the man who had a history of suicidal threats.
Michael E. Young, 55, was struck numerous times, although Criswell’s rifle misfired, said Sgt. Dave Reagan, police spokesman.
Police said Young had drilled into a safe in his home and retrieved a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol that had been placed in the safe following a previous suicide attempt.
Officers arrived to his home on Dec. 27, 2009, to a threatened suicide call and confronted Young when he came outside. They ordered him to drop the gun, but instead he raised it toward Bonney and Stidham, triggering the volley of shots from the officers, Reagan said.
Young recovered from his gunshot injuries and is now facing two counts of second-degree assault.
Couple acquitted of caging 2 boys 
Another_Perspective on April 26 at 3:39 p.m.
I wouldnt believe the Spokane County Prosecutors office if they said the earth was round.
Couple more Rambo’s are let off the hook.
Diana on April 26 at 4:08 p.m.
Didn’t see this coming.
Pat O'Leary on April 26 at 5:42 p.m.
When was the last time we had a cop culpable in the shooting of a citizen? Jay Olsen’s attempted murder of Shonto Pete didn’t even make it.
Thayne on April 26 at 6:09 p.m.
The officers attempted to fire?! It seems like they succeeded. Being a good police officer is probably one of the hardest jobs there is. For a community that is relatively small compared to the NYCs, LAs and Detroits there seems to be an inordinate level of questionable police actions. To me the first obvious corrections should be better supervision training and recruiting.
rterrylynch on April 26 at 8:51 p.m.
I find it audacious when “citizens” complain because someone confronts a policeman or woman with a weapon and is shot. Give me a break people, we hire these folks and train them to serve and protect; we don’t say but have a conversation while the perp points a gun at you.
If you are so concerned with the actions of our local police, read the daily news in Tacoma or Seattle to see how intense it could be. Ours is a calm community except for the few fools that test common sense.
lewis8457 on April 26 at 10:57 p.m.
The problem is can we believe their account of their actions? I am sure they were not sworn to tell the truth. And as we all know a slick lawyer will try to use that as an excuse. That is why some are hostile we can no longer believe what they say, they lie and up till now have been doing it quite successfully.
Sending two officers to a guy’s house that has been known to be suicidal and he has a gun was just dumb. Showed no concern for the neighborhood. People standing around watching as they shoot the guy 8 times. What if one ricocheted? I would expect better tactical training from 100 grand a year cops.
We have a lot of fine men and women on the police and sheriff forces, but we also have a lot of bad ones and they sadly have tainted their fellow officers.
BitofBacon on April 26 at 11:29 p.m.
Lewis- once upon a time in a land far away there was a police force that would just call up the perpetrators and say “Here Mister Bad Guy, why don’t you just come down to the cop shop and we’ll have tea and cookies. And please don’t bring that gun with you. Will you do that for us Mr. Bad Guy? Please, with sugar on top?” And Mr. Bad Guy came down to the cop shop and had tea and cookies with the nice police officers. And they all lived happily ever after. And the neighborhood was safe once again and all the neighbors thought it was great, until Mr. Bad Guy was released and then went on a shooting rampage and killed 5 of his neighbors. Then the neighbors were up in arms saying “if the police had done their job right the first time, this would not have happened”. Oh pooh, I think the officers have done run out of tea and cookies.
tardwhisperer on August 26 at 1:26 p.m.
I wish I could be a fly on the wall when someone points a gun at you Lewis….but I probably could not stay in the room for the smell of what you would project into your pants….