In brief: Deputy back at work after shooting pastor

The Spokane County sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed pastor Wayne Scott Creach at his Spokane Valley nursery and greenhouse complex in August is back at work.

Deputy Brian Hirzel returned to the Sheriff’s Office on Friday and is doing administrative work as prosecutors review the police investigation into the fatal shooting, said Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich.

“He’s cleared all the protocol reviews,” Knezovich said. “There’s no sense in somebody sitting home and collecting a paycheck.”

Hirzel had been on paid leave since the Aug. 25 shooting at 14208 E. Fourth Ave.

Hirzel said he fired on Creach after the older man refused an order to get on the ground, and instead reached for his gun in the waistband of his pants. The Spokane County prosecutor’s office is reviewing the case.