Spokane7
50°
November 18, 2010 in City
Officers in shooting named
Out of 26 shots taken, two killed armed man
From upper left, Spokane police Officers Dan Cole, Bill Hager, Kyle Heuett, Mike McNab, Bruce Palmer and Doug Strosahl.
(Full-size photo)
Six police officers fired a total of 26 shots at a man who refused to drop a shotgun near a busy Spokane intersection last week, investigators said Wednesday.
Ethan A. Corporon, 29, died of two gunshots on the lawn of a Spokane Tribe of Indians building on West Indiana Avenue, which was riddled with bullet holes from police gunfire.
The Spokane police officers who fired at Corporon were identified Wednesday as Dan Cole, Bill Hager, Bruce Palmer, Doug Strosahl, Kyle Heuett and Mike McNab.
The six men, who have a combined 86 years of police experience in Spokane, were part of “a large contingent of officers” who responded to reports of a shotgun-wielding man Friday at 1402 W. Buckeye Ave.
Witnesses at the scene of the shooting said Corporon fired several shots at police and into the air.
But Spokane County sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Reagan said Wednesday that the officers began shooting at Corporon after he refused to drop his shotgun and appeared to be about to run into Shari’s restaurant.
It was unclear if investigators have corroborated witness accounts of Corporon firing at officers. Reagan declined to discuss further details Wednesday.
Police caught up with Corporon’s Chevrolet pickup at Monroe and Indiana after he drove away from the Buckeye Avenue home, where neighbors said he’d threatened his father with a shotgun.
Corporon abandoned the truck in the left-hand lane of southbound Monroe in front of Shari’s, then ran west through the restaurant parking lot with the shotgun before dying of his gunshot wounds near the intersection of Madison and Indiana.
Police found marijuana grow operations at the Buckeye Avenue home and at Corporon’s home at 1211 E. 14th Ave.
Corporon is a convicted felon with a long history of suicide attempts and mental illness, including psychosis and bipolarity.
In 2008, a psychiatrist described him as “volatile and explosive” and said he was likely to reoffend.
It’s unclear when he last sought mental health treatment. Though the report from an Eastern State Hospital doctor included in Corporon’s criminal file in Benton County Superior Court said he’d been treated there at least six times, staff this week said privacy laws prohibit them from confirming if he’s even been there.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Corporon’s fatal shooting with detectives from the Washington State Patrol and the Spokane Police Department.
The police officers involved in the shooting remain on leave.
Cole was hired by the Spokane Police Department in March 1986; Hager in January 1991; Palmer in February 1997; Strosahl in February 1998; Heuett in January 2001; and McNab in August 2001.
McNab, a corporal, is a member of the Inland Northwest’s chapter of Honor Flight, which flies World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., for a tour of memorials.
Strosahl has managed the Explorer Program and was the training coordinator for the Reserve Program. He earned the department’s “top gun” award in 1998, according to news archives.
Cole earned a life-saving award in March 2000 for pulling a fleeing handcuffed burglary suspect from the Spokane River.
Human trafficking suspects released 
liarsinnews on November 18 at 8:35 a.m.
I don`t know whether or not the shooting was justified, but obviously the officers were not sharpshooters.
Ron_the_Cop on November 18 at 11:02 a.m.
Readers should read the other comment thread in the earlier comment thread for this article.
I posted this extensive comment:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/nov/17/police-officers-who-shot-gunman-identified/?comments#c221284
Welcome to the peanut gallery Det. Wuthrich:-)
I have told Sheriff Knezovich several times before in emails that their PIOs should be active in these S-R discussion threads to quickly dispel wide speculation/rumors in these OIS by our learned experts that post here. . .
I will withhold comment on the number of rounds fired and their accuracy at this point until the facts are known. It would be safe to assume using semi-auto weapons that officers are going to fire in three shot volleys. There may be an issue of the number of officers firing, the accuracy of the rounds fired and the background behind the suspect.
HOWEVER - THIS WAS AN ARMED SUSPECT with apparently a shotgun. This was an active shooter event. This was a highly and rapidly evolving event where the use of less than lethal rounds/devices would be problematic. This suspect was on foot running and the likelihood of him taking hostages or barricading in a nearby residence were great. Lethal force based on these circumstance was justified. I’m not willing to second guess the officers’ actions at this point without further information. . .
eagle on November 18 at 7:06 p.m.
Ron you seem to be good at public records request, have you tried requesting information from Tuckers office on the OIS of Creach, specifically what public records his office may have collected on Hirzel from his Cathedral City days. Tuckers been awfully quiet, is that because he’s working up a case or ducking for cover? And you seem to be so chummy with Ozzie, do you have any inside info there in regards to any changes he intends to implement?
Aquamoose on November 19 at 12:23 a.m.
I commend the officers who were forced their hand in ending the suspect’s life as a result of his actions. I’m sure that the objectives of the six officers was to preserve life even at the expense of the instigator who was reportedly was about to run into a restaurant with a shotgun, which appears to be justified. I do know that when law enforcement are required to use deadly force, they are trained with the purpose to stop a suspect until the threat is removed.
I only hope that the appreciations of the patrons of Shari’s and others in the area would be known to those officers. They and their peers deserve our thanks for performing their jobs, protecting us. Thank you.
Ron_the_Cop on November 19 at 10:31 a.m.
Eagle,
Thanks for your confidence in my abilities. Yes there is information from Dep. Hirzel’s former employer that may have some bearing on this case. Some of it has already been made public by the media or other sources. There is potentially other info that I’m not prepared to discuss at this point. Yes, Tucker’s is following his usual MO. I haven’t bothered filing PDRs with his office because of past experience.
As for Sheriff Knezovich he acted to change the 72 hour policy in the critical incident protocol with his deputies involved in an OIS. Sheriff Kenzovich has also posted this protocol on the SO webpage. See right side Quick links - last item:
http://www.spokanecounty.org/Sheriff/content.aspx?c=2068
In this most recent OIS, SPD seems to have interviewed the involved officers quickly. I don’t know if they too have come to some agreement re this previous 72 hour policy.