No charges for 7 deputies involved in fatal Spokane Valley shooting in August

Seven Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies involved in the fatal shooting of a man in Spokane Valley last summer were justified in their use of lethal and nonlethal force, the Spokane County prosecutor’s office has determined.

On Aug. 19, a deputy responded to reports that a reckless driver on Trent Avenue had pulled into a Mobil gas station, located at Trent Avenue and Evergreen Road, and was damaging the windshield and exterior of his truck with an unknown instrument. Initial attempts to make contact with the driver – later identified as Brian C. Bayne, 42 – and de-escalate were unsuccessful, and the initial responding deputy, seeing that Bayne had a pistol, called in backup and a SWAT response was initiated.

A nearly two-hour standoff ensued, during which Bayne periodically pointed the pistol at his own head and once fired it into the dashboard of his vehicle. More than once he stated that he would leave the vehicle with his weapon pointed toward officers, forcing them to shoot him, according to a Spokane County news release.

Several police vehicles were deployed around the truck to prevent Bayne from leaving. Soon after the last one deployed, “Bayne sat up in the cab of the truck and, with his arm fully extended, pointed the pistol toward the rear where several deputies were positioned,” according to the release. Fearing for their safety, the release said, several deputies fired on him.

Deputies and medics later approached the truck and determined that Bayne was deceased.

“Under these circumstances, it was reasonable for deputies to used deadly and less lethal force,” the release states. “… Therefore, no criminal liability attaches and no criminal charges will be filed in this matter.”