Suspect in domestic violence incident, patrol car ramming expected to survive after being shot by Spokane police officers
An assault suspect is in the hospital but expected to survive after three Spokane police officers fired their guns at him just after midnight Monday, police said.
Police were responding to a domestic violence call between a father and a son on the 4100 block of East Longfellow Avenue in Hillyard. When they arrived, the son was in a vehicle in the home’s driveway, a news release from Spokane police said. He allegedly rammed patrol cars and refused to obey orders given by officers.
Three officers fired at him and at least one of them hit him, police said. He was taken into custody and given medical aid by officers, including an EMT-certified SWAT officer, the release said.
Lillian Taylor lives at the corner of Longfellow Avenue and Florida Street and said she was woken up around midnight by officers responding to the house last night.
“Ninety percent of the department was here last night,” she said. “They were out here for a good hour before they shot.”
She heard three shots fired, she said. Later, she saw the suspect being loaded into an ambulance and said he was conscious and yelling “help.”
“You could tell he was in a lot of pain, but he was there,” she said.
Taylor and her boyfriend have been living in the neighborhood for a few months and said they had minimal interactions with the son and his father. They said the son slowed down for kids playing at Loren Kondo Park at the end of the block and seemed nice enough.
Spokane police spokeswoman Officer Teresa Fuller said police have not responded to the house in the past year.
The incident is being investigated by the Spokane Investigative Regional Response Team, comprised of multiple agencies in Eastern Washington, including the Spokane Police Department, the Washington State Patrol and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office is the managing agency, but the Spokane Police Department will release the name of the officers involved in the incident, authorities said.
Investigators were still photographing and processing the scene Monday morning. A silver pickup truck sat in the middle of the street with two patrol cars stopped at an angle in front.
A photo tweeted by KHQ from the scene shows about a dozen marks that appear to be bullet holes on the side of the truck and front windshield, and blood streaked down the driver’s side door.
Sheriff’s Office Lt. Rob Sherar said investigators weren’t yet sure how many officers hit the suspect, only that three fired. More information will be released Tuesday morning, he said.