Domestic violence suspect killed in SWAT shootout bugged his Colbert home with surveillance cameras

After a four-hour standoff and a bout of gunfire, Spokane County sheriff’s deputies found Dean Bellamy’s body on the floor of the master bedroom of his Colbert home.

There was a black pistol near his feet and a gunshot wound to his head.

The Spokane Investigative Regional Response Team is still examining the March 6 shootout, which deputies say began when Bellamy stepped onto the deck adjoining his bedroom and opened fire on members of the SWAT team, injuring one of the team’s leaders.

The Spokane Police Department is the lead agency in the SIRR team’s investigation.

Spokane County Medical Examiner Sally Aiken ruled Bellamy’s death a homicide, meaning he was killed by the deputies’ bullets, her office said Wednesday. But the SIRR team has not publicly released any conclusions about Bellamy’s death.

Bellamy was a former bank executive with a history of domestic violence charges. The shootout marked the third time the SWAT team had responded to his home at 18718 N. Leslie Lane. Court documents say he had verbally and physically terrorized his estranged wife and her family.

According to a search warrant filed this week, SIRR investigators found a surveillance camera on a fireplace mantle in Bellamy’s bedroom that may have recorded his final moments. His ex-wife told investigators “that some of the surveillance cameras inside of the residence are hidden” and footage was recorded onto a laptop or iPad.

Investigators seized three Apple products and a storage card that was in the camera. They recently received a judge’s permission to search the devices for video evidence.

Deputy Mark Gregory, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said SIRR investigators are examining Bellamy’s death and working to create a precise record of the deputies’ actions.

“All that still has to be investigated on any major incident like that,” Gregory said.

According to the search warrant, SWAT deputies fired two “less-lethal” beanbag rounds at Bellamy before he started shooting. Then, a sniper positioned northeast of the home fired a round after spotting a pistol in Bellamy’s hand.

The sniper reported Bellamy was in the bedroom with his arm stretched outside, the document states. Bellamy was mostly obscured from view, so the sniper fired at a wall beside him.

When the shooting stopped, deputies sent a camera-equipped robot inside the home. Bellamy was lying on his back.

Editor’s note: This story was changed on April 27, 2017. An earlier version incorrectly identified the law enforcement agency investigating the shootout in Colbert. A line in the fifth paragraph also has been revised to clarify the nature of the SIRR team’s investigation.