Spokane7
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November 13, 2010 in City
Man firing shotgun killed by officers
Incident began with reports of shooting at North Side home
Spokane police roll out crime tape around the scene where a police shot and killed a man Friday, Nov. 12, 2010, near the corner of Indiana Avenue and Madison Street.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)
A gunman suspected of shooting at a home was shot and killed by Spokane police officers Friday after abandoning his truck outside a busy restaurant and firing at officers, witnesses said.
The man, whose name has not been released, died on the lawn in front of a Spokane Tribe of Indians building at the southeast corner of North Madison Street and West Indiana Avenue about 3:15 p.m. He appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s.
Officers were responding to a report of a man with a shotgun firing rounds at 1402 W. Buckeye Ave., when the suspect fled in a white Chevrolet pickup with a canopy, said Sgt. Dave Reagan, spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect abandoned the truck in the left lane of southbound Monroe Street, in front of Shari’s restaurant, and fled with the shotgun before he fired several shots at officers and was killed, witnesses said.
The gunman was shooting at his father at the Buckeye Avenue home, where the men had been visiting acquaintances, Reagan said. Reagan said witnesses at the Buckeye home began calling 911 about 3:05 p.m. to report six shots fired.
Officers caught up with the man just before he abandoned his truck and began walking westbound behind Shari’s, Reagan said. Witnesses said he fired at police and into the air, Reagan said.
Reagan said six officers with the Spokane Police Department fired shots.
The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting with detectives from the Washington State Patrol, Reagan said.
Wayne Buckingham, 28, said he saw at least six or seven officers ordering the man to stop as they ran through a parking lot behind Shari’s and the tribal building, which houses youth programs.
Buckingham was smoking a cigarette outside a home near Madison and West Nora Avenue when he heard what he thought was a tire blowout. He heard police commands and saw the man fire several shots at the officers as he ran through the parking lot.
“They were trying to get him to stop and he wouldn’t and he started popping off shots,” Buckingham said. “He busted a shot at the cops, then busted five or six more.”
Police screamed at the man to stop after the first shot, then fired several rounds, Buckingham said.
“It happened so damn fast, it’s still sinking in on me,” he said. “Thank God the police are here. … I could have been shot by one of those bullets.”
The shooting closed a four-block area around the busy Northwest Boulevard and Monroe Street intersection through Friday night. Police said streets could stay closed through this morning because investigators planned to return to the scene.
Police locked down Shari’s to interview customers who may have witnessed the melee. The restaurant closed for the rest of the night, as did other area businesses.
Several other neighbors heard the gunfire. Two children were playing in a grassy area near the lot when the gunfire erupted, Buckingham said.
No one other than the gunman was injured, police said.
A neighbor who didn’t want his name used said he was working on a car as four children played nearby when he heard a shotgun blast, followed by five or six more shots, then eight to 10.
“By that time, I was on the ground,” he said.
“I stand 100 percent behind the police,” he said. “They were protecting the public.”
Aaron Brown, 31, said he saw the man run from police after abandoning the pickup.
“He fired at them, he kept running and they shot him,” Brown said. “He got off a couple rounds before he laid down.”
Vikki Rowland, a 23-year resident of the neighborhood, said she was raking leaves in her yard about two blocks from the scene when she heard gunshots. She saw police covering the man’s body with a tarp.
“How sad,” she said.
A man who lives in back of the Buckeye house, where police first responded, said he heard a gunshot and saw the suspect pointing a shotgun at the home before police arrived.
The gunman was already in his truck when an officer drove up, the neighbor said. He drove southbound on Cedar toward Northwest Boulevard as police followed, said the neighbor, who refused to give his name.
The Buckeye address appears to be a rental home. The neighbor said he’d never seen the gunman before Friday but did see the truck parked at the home regularly.
Police closed the intersection of Buckeye and Cedar after the shooting and expected to remain on scene for most of the night.
Reagan said the officers involved in the shooting were taken to the Public Safety Building, which houses the Sheriff’s Office and city Police Department, immediately after the incident.
Investigators expect to return to the area today to continue collecting evidence, Reagan said. A sheriff’s helicopter was expected to photograph both scenes from the air.
Human trafficking suspects released 
bvml on November 13 at 2:53 a.m.
Suicide by cop.
Prayers for the lowlife’s family and for the officers that had to fulfill his wish…
ZagChuck on November 13 at 5:01 a.m.
Prayers for the families of both the officers and the suspect.
People will soon post horrible things about the police officers, without understanding the difficulties they and their families must now live through. It’s not easy to take a life, especially when you’re life is spent protecting life. It’s even more difficult when you do what you can to protect your family from your work environment.
They deserve our respect and they deserve some privacy.
People will also post nasty things about the suspect who was killed. Obviously he had his flaws, and made his mistakes, but his family deserves respect as well.
lewis8457 on November 13 at 7:52 a.m.
it is already getting deep in here.
what i am wondering is where are the other 19 bullets? 10 cops firing they all do the double tap one bullet hit the guy so where are all the others.
Bob_Knows on November 13 at 8:34 a.m.
Do all 10 blue gun thugs who fired wildly get rewarded for the murder with a bonus 2 week paid vacation?
How many blue gun thugs got put on overtime (gravy train) at OUR expense for the next 12 hours while they blocked traffic disturbed people’s lives, and paraded for the news cams?
How many “civilians” were recklessly endangered and narrowly missed being shot by a hail of random gun thug fire?
Will the Criminal Lab figure out which blue gun thug managed to hit the guy, and award only him a “KILL” toward ACE PIG? Or, do all the blue gun thugs who emptied their guns at random around the neighborhood get half a credit too?
How much of OUR tax money is being wasted on this whole incident? A couple of gumshoe detectives could write a report. There isn’t any “suspect” to chase down and kill any more. Instead we get DOZENS of city and county blue gun thugs wasting DAYS blocking traffic and filling report books with useless data at taxpayer expense.
When they say, “Major marijuana grow,” do they mean that the guy had a couple of plants for medical use? That’s their usual lie.
The only rational conclusion from this whole sad incident is that the SPD budge is about 10x what it needs to be. So is the County Sheriff budget. Come on Council members. STOP THE WASTE OF MONEY. Cut their bloated budgets!
BitofBacon on November 13 at 8:45 a.m.
Good to see the mouth-breathers like Bob are up this morning.
misjustice on November 13 at 8:51 a.m.
“Police later shot and killed the man but not before stray bullets hit nearby homes.”
“One bullet went through the kitchen window of a woman living in a nearby home. The bullet went through two window panes.”
http://www.krem.com/news/local/Stray-bullets-in-police-shooting-hit-nearby-homes-107628298.html
nslopeofw on November 13 at 9:12 a.m.
As much as i distrust the SPD, witnesses describe this psycho shooting at the cops, after he shot at his own father. Oops, dead guy. Yeah, there were a few cops, but what do we expect? Let him go? If he’d have killed any citizens, the blamers would come out of the woodwork, as well. not all the cops are bad, not all are murderers. These ones did their job.
lewis8457 on November 13 at 9:32 a.m.
This was dangerous chase no doubt in that. He could have got to a house and held hostages. So I think putting him down was the only choice.
I am still concerned for the apparent disregard for any possible by standers. We have seen this several times in the past where citizens are in the line of fire or in the line of a possible ricochet.
Last year when they ran up on the drugged out kid already on the ground his weapon on the ground a few feet away and they plugged him 5 more times. While people stood out on the street and watched. Or the suicidal guy whose house and the neighbors house they riddled with bullets to try and convince the guy not to end his life.
I am really concerned with the disregard for bystanders. Heck now it doesn’t even take contact with a cop to possibly get killed by cop, it could just be accident.
misjustice on November 13 at 9:56 a.m.
I find it weird/strange/wrong that the suspect’s name has not been released but the SR printed/published/posted a picture of his dead body.
gkbarnes on November 13 at 12:49 p.m.
Front page picture….Just don’t think we needed to see this on the front page, even if the young man was in the wrong I don’t think everybody in Spokane area needed to see him laying there like that, he does have a family and this had to hurt….dislike button on this one Spokesman-Review. Very poor taste on your part and it didn’t look like Thieschafer was checking the body but rather pulling a blue tarp over it.
Next time “think” of the family members before you print a picture like this one.
Patriot61 on November 13 at 1:11 p.m.
To Lewis and Bob,
You are both the lowest forms of life…the men and women of the Spokane Police Department were nothing short of heroic! They ended the the threat of a mad man that could’ve killed many civilians including children. The fact that they terminated this idiot’s rampage so surgically is a tribute to their training and proficiency. Which, by the way, could not happen without money for training and instructors. The salaries they recieve from their “bloated” budget considers that during events such as these that any one of them could have easily been the one under the tarp. Does your job carry such risk? To call them “blue gun thugs” exposes your ignorance. When officers resort to deadly force they know there is an attorney for every bullet expended. With that in mind they take every possible precaution to avoid civilian injury. Lewis and Bob why don’t you stop your obvious cop bashing and expose yourselves for what you are. Or is “expose” a touchy term for you? Have a little run in with the Boys in Blue for your behavior maybe? If you two don’t like it here, leave. Tne last I saw there were no fences around Spokane. Or are you required to “register”? Hmmm…might explain your cop hatred.
lewis8457 on November 13 at 4:54 p.m.
Patriot you are wrong I have no criminal record. Why is it you cops/supporters think anyone who speaks out is a criminal? Our life is all we really have is it really such a brain twister some of law abiding citizens feel just as much a target as the meth heads?
So when 10 cops are firing off a barrage of bullets they know each one is cause for lawsuit? Since the cop them selves cannot be (more like it is wont be) sued does that mean you approve of more money being pad out because of recklessness? If that is true then is there any way I can get you to pay my property taxes next year?
And has we all know you cops have ace in the hole anyone suing the city gets to deal with Satan himself (Rocky). And he will sue back with a vengeance so in reality f the cops shoot up your house you are better to just have your homeowners pay the bill. So where is all this caring for our safety you are talking about?
If we were in LA or NY our officers in blue would be paid Ok in Spokane what they get is far beyond their skills. Which is basically point and shoot.
Bob_Knows on November 13 at 5:36 p.m.
Well said Lewis. I’m tired of the pigs’ and pig lovers’ personal attacks on any concerned citizen who objects to their war against the people, their serial murders, and their bloated budgets of OUR tax money.
zelda on November 13 at 6:50 p.m.
@misjustice — A lot of times friends and relatives come forward with the name before the dead person’s identity is officially released, but nothing so far. What I find quite interesting is the number of witnesses who told their accounts of what happened to reporters and then left the scene or who talked to reporters and didn’t want their identity known. Makes me think there were a fair number of witnesses, now unavailable, who had prior arrests or outstanding warrants. Just a hunch. And then there’s the whole “don’t snitch” creed and not wanting to get involved beyond having an exciting story to tell friends.
BTW, both KREM and KHQ are reporting that detectives found a marijuana grow when searching the suspect’s house on “east 14th.”
Ed Byrnes on November 13 at 10:48 p.m.
@ Patriot61 & Bob_Knows:
Perhaps we could use the posting of nslopeofw to this forum as an example of contributing to the conversation.
If you want to see some reasons to not call law enforcement pigs and to not refer to citizens who question law enforcement actions criminals, I refer you to this forum from last week, where law enforcement and civilians have been in dialogue with each other:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/nov/07/life-or-death-in-an-instant/
The problems between law enforcement and the public are well known, I for one would welcome your constructive ideas for possible solutions, and I think other readers would as well.
Ed
m_eldridge1983 on November 16 at 11:22 a.m.
I am a close friend to Ethan, and he was no lowlife!!! Everybody goes through rough times… and knowing Ethan like I did, I know there was an instigating factor not known by the police and we will NEVER hear his side of the story thanks to Spokane Police Department.
THE REST OF THIS COMMENT IS FOR THE INVESTIGATING TEAM……HERE IS A COMMENT TAKEN OUT OF THE NEWS ARTICLE… “He busted a shot at the cops, then busted five or six more.”….WHAT SHOTGUN HAS THAT MANY SHOTS WITHOUT NEEDING TO BE RELOADED?? SO IF HE “BUSTED 5 OR 6 SHOTS” THERE HAD TO BE A RELOADING PERIOD WHERE THE OFFICERS COULD HAVE CLOSED IN AND TAKEN HIM DOWN WHILE MAINTAINING LIFE.
m_eldridge1983 on November 16 at 11:35 a.m.
My next concern is in regards to the police not taking reasonable measures to save his life. They just shot him dead. Did anyone check his pulse…and even if they did CPR should have been administered. I can understand that his heart may have been stopped or JUST REALLY LOW due to gun shots to his body…but that doesnt mean that his life couldn’t have been saved with reasonable measures taken. I THINK THIS SHOULD BE EXAMINED TO THE FULLEST…unless the coroner says they hit an artery and he bleed out in 25 seconds…but until that can be determined…it should be questioned why they didn’t even call an ambulance. or attempt to save his life.
I KNOW WITH EVERYTHING THAT ETHAN’S AGENDA WAS NOT TO HURT THE PUBLIC THE INCIDENT JUST ENDED UP IN PUBLIC. BECAUSE IF HIS INTENTION WAS TO SHOOT A PERSON…HE WOULD HAVE SHOT A PERSON BECAUSE THERE WERE PLENTY AROUND WHEN THIS HAPPENED.
Patriot61 on November 16 at 7:51 p.m.
To Bob - I am NOT a “pig-lover” I have never even met your wife!
Lewis- Thank god you don’t get to set the wage standards for Spokane. Otherwise all you little “anarchy” hoodlums would not have grown up in the upper middle class environment that you resent.
And last to RETARD Ridge1983 the best time to take down a gunman is when he’s RELOADING. NOT when he’s shooting directly AT you. Get off the XBOX and join the rest of us in “real time”.