Deputy returns fire and shoots man, incident likely captured by officer body camera

A Spokane County sheriff’s deputy shot a man Friday night after the man fired at him during a foot chase. “We are very lucky we don’t have an injured deputy,” Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said. “It was a very, very close proximity gunfight.” The deputy, who has not been named, pulled the man over in a traffic stop about 8:30 p.m. near the Chevron station on the northeast corner of Barker Road and Cataldo Avenue, just north of Interstate 90. The driver provided several false names to the deputy before fleeing the car on foot, Knezovich said. The deputy and his K-9 chased the man. The dog caught up to the man and took him to the ground. The deputy was reaching down to arrest the man when “the suspect rolled, drew a weapon and fired one shot at the deputy,” Knezovich said. The deputy returned fire, striking the man. Officials didn’t say where the man was shot. Sheriff’s spokesman Mark Gregory said he was taken by ambulance to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and reportedly was in stable condition. Knezovich said that a preliminary investigation indicates that one shot each was fired by the man and deputy. Two women in the car were arrested because they had warrants for their arrest, Gregory said. Liberty Lake Police Chief Brian Asmus said a Liberty Lake officer was at the scene but did not fire. All Liberty Lake officers wear body cameras. “We believe the Liberty Lake officer’s camera captured the entire incident,” Knezovich said. The deputy and his K-9 were not injured. Newly elected Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell came to the scene. “I’m here just to make sure the community knows the prosecutor’s office is interested and active in the investigation,” Haskell said.