Spokane7
65°
July 19, 2011 in News, City
Creach family files $15 million claim against county
The family of slain Spokane Valley pastor Wayne Scott Creach has filed a $14.7 million wrongful death claim against Spokane County, which is a necessary prelude to filing a civil lawsuit.
“A jury may come in and feel highly aggravated at what happened,” said Alan Creach, the pastor’s son. “They may award a very large sum.”
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, who is on vacation, said Tuesday that he knows the claim has been filed. “Since it’s gone into the lawsuit phase, I don’t have any comments per our legal advice.”
Creach was shot and killed on Aug. 25 by Deputy Brian Hirzel in the parking lot of Creach’s family business, The Plant Farm, at 14208 E. Fourth Ave. Believing Hirzel may have been stealing from the business, Creach grabbed his pistol and approached the unmarked patrol car.
Hirzel, who has been cleared in criminal, citizen advisory and internal probes, told investigators that he ordered Creach to drop the gun but he initially refused. The 74-year-old Creach eventually put his gun in the back waistband of his pants.
Hirzel said, according to department records, he ordered Creach on the ground and struck him in the leg with his baton after he refused. Hirzel said Creach then grabbed for his .45-caliber pistol and the deputy fired when he could see the butt of Creach’s gun.
“The property owner lost his life and we think that is totally wrong,” Alan Creach said. “Yet, law enforcement didn’t do anything to solve what we see as a very serious problem. We want to make sure the sheriff is bound by the same laws that we as citizens are.”
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Brooks5 on July 19 at 6:30 p.m.
I hope they win!!!
Squid on July 19 at 6:57 p.m.
At the very least, I hope this will make the police think twice before they gun down any more of our good and productive citizens with families. There have been way too many productive family men murdered in this area by the people who are supposed to protect us. Gunning down an elderly, business owning, preacher on his own property is inexcusable. The police need to use more of their brain for psychology and less of their brain for control and power trips. There was no need for a show of power and control on this man. That show of power and control should be used on gangs, murderers, rapists, wife beaters, (nothing personal, officers) and armed robbers. You know…. Dangerous people, not elderly, business owning preachers, with families. Get it?
hawken on July 19 at 7:01 p.m.
I hope they win as well.
gmsalina on July 19 at 7:17 p.m.
Hirzel clearly made a major mistake in this incident and his being cleared of wrongdoing is but a testament to our corrupt system of allowing the County to investigate the City and vice versa when it comes to police misconduct issues. Hirzel is the one that should be facing a massive civil suit, along with the county. Creach was murdered thoughtlessly, but I pray and hope that at least some form of justice is served here, even if its only monetary in nature.
Byrdie714 on July 19 at 7:36 p.m.
I hope they win too but the unfortunate thing is that it will be the taxpayers that will foot the bill for the lawyers as well as the monetary damages.
Not only stupidity was excercised by the SCSO so is the monetary abuse towards the taxpayers its “supposedly” are to serve and protect.
meyerlansky on July 19 at 7:40 p.m.
Yes…..another black eye for Spokane’s wallet. After paying the Creach family, how much will Spokane or Spokane County have to pony up to the Zehm family and the detective who is suing the city for 10 million?
Ron_the_Cop on July 19 at 8:00 p.m.
I would caution all to keep the rhetoric civil and let this case wind it way through the civil court process. Also I would encourage all to read the two comment threads in the earlier article by Clouse:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jun/23/deputy-cleared-in-creach-shooting/
I’m not going to rehash my comments and will leave it with this comment from the other thread:
The_Seer on July 19 at 8:10 p.m.
ron: Whatever.
Say hello to higher insurance premiums and a much higher deductible for the county. We might even get to the point like Maricopa County, where Sheriff Joe rules, that insurance companies won’t even do business with the local governments.
I’d like to know the law firm handling the case for the plaintiffs and whether or not their services have been procured with a contingency arrangement. It’s one thing to pursue a lawsuit of this sort with your own funds and another entirely different situation when a law firm convinces one they want to cash in on your loss.
Ron_the_Cop on July 19 at 8:25 p.m.
As a taxpayer I’m not please either. We will ultimately have to indemnify the County if the Creach family prevails. Read my previous comments as I’m not thrilled by this case and the actions of SPD in conducting the criminal investigation that in some aspects affected the SCSO’s IA review and investigation.
I’m just trying to tone down the extremist rhetoric that some have engaged in that in some cases is advocating violence towards the police.
Scoutster on July 19 at 8:26 p.m.
This is the right thing, to have the courts work on the case, since the prosecutor and police are seen as biased by so much of the public.
Squid: Is it OK for the police to gun down unemployed single women, since it is obviously wrong to shoot “productive, family men”?
misjustice on July 19 at 8:29 p.m.
Good luck to the Creach family in their pursuit of justice.
Maybe it will turn out like the OJ trial; not guilty for jail time but guilty as hell for a monetary award…the burden is lower in a civil trial, the Creach family only needs to establish a preponderance of guilt to prevail.
In other words, 51%…they just need to tip the scale; not prove beyond a resonable doubt that Hirzel is guilty of homicide.
remember_alamo on July 19 at 8:31 p.m.
Is the Spokane County Sheriff listening? Alan Creach was asking for a change in their policy does the citizens have to pay again for their lack of hearing?
jddavis on July 19 at 8:35 p.m.
No amount of money can make this sad story right. I hope the jury awards the Creech family a sum large enough to put Sherriff K and crew on notice.
PlanB on July 19 at 9:18 p.m.
As a taxpayer, I detest what is a needless lawsuit because this murder should never have occurred. But I hope they win, and win big, because there does not seem to be any other way to get some amount of accountability, morality, and standards injected into our sick, corrupt system of law enforcement and prosecution.
So the bottom line is: As a taxpayer, I am more than happy to pay my share to see the Creach family win as a small token for what has been taken from them and the despicable, vile injustice served to Wayne Scott Creach.
de3 on July 19 at 10:37 p.m.
$10 million suit against SPD by a fired police detective.
$14.7 million suit against the County and the Sheriff.
$?? - unspecified total suit against the City over the killing of Otto Zehm.
Tens of millions being paid off over the RPS fraud.
No wonder the roads look like crap around here. And let’s not get started on the weed lined sidewalks and roads.
ChefGus/ John Olsen on July 19 at 11:53 p.m.
Lets all just calm down here please…. good grief… John
ChefGus/ John Olsen on July 19 at 11:55 p.m.
Lewis:
“i would sue for the right to shoot Deputy Hrizel two times in the chest ”
come on Lewis… i know you… and this is just not in the realm of “comment” …. lighten up please… j
lewis8457 on July 20 at 12:00 a.m.
After all we need each other - we are the police and the police are us.
Really Ron i don’t remember beating Otto Zehm to death i am sure that was a cop and he ain’t me, I’m no short chicken s##t that is for damn sure. We don’t need cops that can murder us at will i will take my chances with the criminals at least they have some ethics.
as far as killing cops that is bad deal all the way around, no good can come of it. But bring those cops that have murdered in cold blood and let them hang would serve notice to the others. Play it straight or…..
you know Ron i have a cop that lives next door from me up north he is from Olympia and he breaks every law in the book and brags about it. When i see cops like him i wonder why am i obeying the law? I mean what is the law? If the person enforcing has no accountability then how am I supposed to respect their position enough to care?
I don’t, if i see a cop in trouble i will keep driving. I don’t talk to them if one is behind me i pull over and remove the keys from the ignition. If I see a car with a bear on it i stick to the bumper so close it looks like they are towing me. I couldn’t find a blue bear sticker so i put a blue pig sticker on my truck.
lewis8457 on July 20 at 12:05 a.m.
Gus he is dead Hirzel lied we all know it, the cops covered it up like everything else.
We just get to comment about how there is not a damn thing any of us can do.
And there is nothing we can do.
We still haven’t seen Otto’s trial even though Thompson will win. 5 years Gus 5 years!!!
I’m sorry i think we need to take the bull by the horns.
an eye for an eye a life for a life
Ron_the_Cop on July 20 at 10:54 a.m.
There is a new thread for this article:
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jul/20/creach-family-seeks-millions/
Remember_alamo
I met with the Sheriff, his IA detective and SPD Ombudsman Tim Burns for three hours two weeks ago to discuss the Creach OIS.
There are specific areas where we will have to agree to disagree in the Creach OIS that ultimately a jury will have to deliberate and decide what the truth is after hearing all the evidence and testimony.
On the other hand like all organizations that experience a critical incident there are always areas where the incident response can be improved and also from a policy and procedure perspective where changes can be made to prevent and or at least minimize future tragic events. As a taxpayer I would expect a public agency to do this self-evaluation for risk control without being forced to act because of subsequent civil suits. The airline industry and hospitals/medical profession have changed course over the last fifteen years to quickly acknowledge when mistakes are made and to make changes to minimize potential litigation exposure.
One of my main concerns is the regular use of unmarked police units for routine patrol and traffic enforcement by law enforcement. Granted Dep. Hirzel exited his unit in full uniform as he said he did (Note: Dep. Hirzel was in regular uniform and not BDUs), the issue of the unmarked unit is much less relevant. Had this been a marked unit, this issue of identification would not be a plaintiff’s issue. As I’ve discussed in other threads, the marginal tactical advantage of using these unmarked units for regular patrol et al is outweighed by greater public safety issues. The risk is always additive and eventually the dice will come up craps e.g., the shuttle disasters.
The Sheriff said he’s is open to consider recommendations for changes where the incident response can be improved and where policy and procedure changes can minimize future such tragic events. He has already implemented some changes (See the other threads). I have since provided him with a list and will leave it to him whether he chooses to share them publicly.
I will report that the Sheriff said he is no longer using unmarked units for regular patrol. Only patrol shift supervisor are now driving unmarked units. The Sheriff would not give such a commitment for traffic enforcement. There is an actual issue in controversy here whether under existing RCWs if local police and sheriffs have the authority to use unmarked vehicles for regular patrol and traffic enforcement. I gave the Sheriff several recommendations how to resolve this uncertainty.
lewis8457 on July 20 at 7:02 p.m.
The sheriff and police chief, are a liar, good luck Ron the cop but Ozzie is just blowing smoke at you. Your work is to be commended but i hate to tell you is all for nothing.
The corruption rains down from the administrative and covers every facet of our wonderful law enforcement and with the feds lack of caring I would guess most of your hard work goes in one ear and right out the other.
With our current issues i think we need to call in national guard completely disband the SPD and SVPD and start over.
Ron_the_Cop on July 21 at 11:25 a.m.
Lewis thanks for you appreciation. Time will tell whether you’re right or not:-)
ChefGus/ John Olsen on July 21 at 8:17 p.m.
Keep at em RTC… and Lewis… i understand your personal connection to dear Otto… folks like him are the dear souls we should be helping and not hurting… your heart is in the right place.. but don’t piss those other guys off… many of them can and eventually will be our ally’s … best j