Police shooting of robbery suspect justified, prosecutor says

The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office announced late Friday afternoon that four Spokane Police officers were justified in shooting robbery suspect Stephen C. Corkery outside a north Spokane home last March. Sgt. John Roys, Sgt. Kevin Keller and Officers Sean Wheeler and Art Dollard acted with good faith and were concerned for their safety and the safety of bystanders, according to a county news release, so their actions were justified. The fifth officer involved in the shooting, Paul Buchmann, refused to give a statement to investigators. “His exact intent cannot be ascertained,” said the news release. “However, he will not be charged based on the remaining facts and circumstances.” Police were investigating Corkery for the armed robbery of several coffee shops, a Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor and Subway sandwich shops. Court documents show that Corkery wrote a confession and an apology to his family and told friends that we wouldn’t go back to prison in the days leading up to the shooting. On March 26, officers surrounded the home Corkery was in at 1527 W. Grace and tried to get him to surrender. Police said officers fired when Corkery began to raise the gun he was holding in his hand, which was down by his side. The gun Corkery was holding was later determined to be a pellet gun. The night of the shooting Police Chief Frank Straub said officers had negotiated with Corkery to get him to give up while he was still inside the house and “we continued to talk to him when he came out of the house.” Police “clarified” their statements after video of the incident shot by a bystander surfaced that showed Corkery being shot a second or two after opening the screen door. The news release from Spokane County announcing the prosecutor’s decision offers a timeline that appears to conflict with the bystander’s video. “After a number of minutes, Corkery came outside,” the release reads. “Officers continued to order Corkery to put his hands in the air and give up and that everything could be worked out. Corkery was reported to have mouthed, ‘There is nothing to work out.’ ” Prosecutor Larry Haskell did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.