Officer involved in shooting ID’d

Investigators have identified the Spokane police officer who shot and killed a man early Tuesday following a confrontation on Spokane’s South Hill.

Officer Adam Valdez, a six-year veteran of the Spokane Police Department, shot 52-year-old Jacob Dorfman,, said Washington State Patrol spokesman Trooper Troy Briggs.

Valdez works the overnight patrol shift, but will be placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation which is protocol in officer-involved shootings.

Briggs said Thursday he didn’t have further details to disclose.

Witnesses called police Tuesday about 1:20 a.m. when they saw Dorfman allegedly firing a gun in the intersection of Adams Street and Eighth Avenue. He was shirtless, screaming and pacing about the intersection.

When officers responded, Dorfman fled in a Jeep Grand Cherokee crashing through yards and fences.

Officers cornered Dorfman just north of Huckleberry’s Natural Market at Ninth Avenue and Monroe Street, where Valdez shot him. A gun was recovered at the scene.

Valdez has been honored for his work with the department, according to police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe.

In 2010, he received a commendation for stopping someone from committing suicide by talking the person out of jumping off a balcony, DeRuwe said. He received another commendation in 2012 for helping to ensure the safe return of a missing 10-year-old girl to her home.

Investigators are looking into whether Dorfman, who had just been released from the Spokane County Jail on Monday after someone posted $15,000 bond, authored a Craigslist post outlining plans to kill people at random.

The WSP is leading the multi-agency investigation.