Brian Hirzel

Creach shooting: Key person

Deputy Brian Hirzel had been with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office for two years, assigned to the Spokane Valley Police Department, when he shot and killed Wayne Scott Creach on Aug. 25, 2010. Hirzel, who lives in Hayden, worked 13 years as a law enforcement officer in Cathedral City, Calif., near Palm Springs. While working there, he was involved in a fatal encounter in which he reportedly used a controversial chokehold on an individual who later died. Hirzel also spent three years as a deputy for Kootenai County. He was hired in 2008 by Spokane County, which has a contract to provide deputies to serve as police officers for Spokane Valley.