In brief: Shootout near Rice, Wash., kills man, injures detective

An off-duty Stevens County detective shot and killed a man Tuesday night at a rural home near the Columbia River, according to Spokane County investigators called in to handle the case.

A neighbor called the detective for help, claiming a stranger was trying to kick in his door. When the detective arrived at the neighbor’s home, the man turned from the doorstep and began firing a shotgun at the detective, Spokane County sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Craig Chamberlin said.

“He actually had to run around his vehicle to protect himself,” Chamberlin said of the detective.

The detective fired back and killed the man, Chamberlin said. The detective was hit in the hand and ear by shotgun pellets and is being treated at Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville.

No one involved in the case has been identified.

The shooting unfolded at an isolated home on Scott Road in the hills just east of Lake Roosevelt off state Route 25 near the community of Rice.

Mark Mays dies at age 65

Mark Mays – a Spokane psychologist, lawyer, educator, university trustee and congressional candidate – died Saturday. He was 65.

Mays built a psychology practice in Spokane after receiving his doctorate degree from the University of Texas and working for the Air Force. He earned a law degree from Gonzaga University in 1985. He served for 22 years on the board of Spokane Community Mental Health Center, including two years as its president.

At various times he taught at Gonzaga Law School and the University of Washington Medical School and was appointed twice to the Eastern Washington University Board of Trustees, once by Gov. Gary Locke in 1997, and again in 2010 by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Mays was active in Democratic politics and in 2008 ran and lost against Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

He is survived by his wife, Paula Dillon Mays, five children and four grandchildren. Funeral services are set for 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Aloysius Church, followed by a reception at the Lincoln Center, 1316 N. Lincoln St. Memorials are requested to the Dr. Mark Mays Endowed Scholarship with the EWU Foundation.

Jailers cleared in stun gun death

Spokane jailers were cleared of criminal wrongdoing in the death of Christopher J. Parker, a diabetic drug user who died in custody February 2013.

Spokane County Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Jack Driscoll said jail employees followed procedures. Parker was arrested after he called 911 claiming he’d ingested too much methamphetamine and became paranoid.

Parker arrived at the jail with elevated blood glucose levels, but not high enough for a doctor to be paged under jail protocol. He refused insulin treatment and became combative during the booking process, according to police reports.

Corrections officers shot Parker with a stun gun and placed him in a restraint chair. He stopped breathing during this process. Within an hour, he was declared dead.

County approves aerospace deal

Spokane County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the sale of 56.6 acres of land owned by Spokane International Airport to an aerospace company that wants to build a new plant in Airway Heights.

Exotic Metals Forming Co. LLC, based in Kent, Wash., announced last week that it will locate a second manufacturing facility on the land south of McFarlane Road and Lawson Street.

The company, which has 900 employees in Kent, would employ about 150 workers here after its proposed 150,000-square-foot plant is completed a year from now. The company produces high strength sheet metal products for aircraft production.

The purchase price is $743,000. The Spokane City Council has also unanimously approved the land sale.