Suspect shot by police officers in Hillyard identified

The man shot by Spokane police officers following a domestic violence call early Monday morning is Jason M. Smith, 36, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday in a news release.

Three officers fired at Smith and wounded him after he refused to follow officer commands to get out of his vehicle and rammed patrol cars, the release said. Smith was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The incident began after midnight Monday at a house at 4118 E. Longfellow Ave. in Hillyard. Smith called 911 to report his father was trying to kill himself and mentioned there were guns inside the house, the release said.

Smith’s father called 911 a few minutes later and said Smith was intoxicated and damaging the house. He said Smith slammed him into the ground and dragged him across the floor.

When officers arrived, Smith was sitting in his truck in the driveway. Officers parked two patrol cars in front of his truck and yelled commands for Smith to stop, the release said. Smith drove forward, hit the first patrol car and pushed it into the car behind it.

Three officers then fired at Smith, the release said.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Deputy Mark Gregory said the shooting happened about five minutes after officers arrived. Initial reports from neighbors who heard the shooting Monday morning said officers were on scene longer before they fired.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting as part of the Spokane Investigative Regional Response team. The names of the officers involved in the shooting will be released by the Spokane Police Department.

Smith has been charged with three counts of assault for allegedly ramming the patrol cars, and two other domestic violence charges. He will be transported to jail when he’s released from the hospital, Gregory said.

Gregory said information about how many shots were fired and how many struck Smith would be released later in the investigation. A photo from the scene tweeted by KHQ on Monday showed Smith’s truck parked on Longfellow Avenue with at least a dozen marks that appear to be bullet holes on the driver’s side door and windshield.

Investigators still are looking into Smith’s background, Gregory said, but believe he moved to the house within the past week after a protection order was filed against him, forcing him to leave a residence in Airway Heights.