Spokane police officer found not guilty of misdemeanor domestic assault

A jury acquitted a Spokane police officer Monday of hitting his girlfriend.

Officer Nicholas J. Spolski, 38, was placed on paid administrative leave following his 2017 arrest. The jury in Spokane District Court deliberated for about 40 minutes.

“It was all very stressful for Nick and his family,” said Spolski’s attorney, Rob Cossey. “But he’s very, very relieved with the verdict.”

With the criminal investigation over, an internal affairs investigation will begin, said Michele Anderson, public safety communications manager for the Spokane Police Department.

Prosecutors charged Spolski in December 2017 after his girlfriend told Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies that he had assaulted her “numerous times” while they lived together in an apartment in the 1600 block of North Hatch Road. The woman said she and Spolski had dated for about nine months. She said he would slap her and punch her in the face and kick her while she was on the ground.

The woman also told detectives the officer handed her a gun and told her to kill herself after confiding in him that she was depressed. She further said, on two separate occasions, Spolski held the same silver-colored gun to his head while repeatedly telling her he was going to kill himself.

During trial, Cossey said Spolski and his ex-girlfriend both took the witness stand. Cossey credited the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office for their handling of the case, but said his staff interviewed jurors after the verdict and reported that they “did not believe the state proved it beyond a reasonable doubt.”