Spokane Police name two officers who shot knife-wielding man on Jan. 23

The Spokane Police Department on Tuesday named Tyler Fisher and Jordan Orrell as the officers who shot and killed Dwight D. Steward on Jan. 23 after he reportedly refused commands to drop two knives he was holding.

Fisher and Orrell responded to a call potentially involving a gun at 3:43 p.m. Jan. 23 near Andy’s Market on Monroe Street and located Steward. According to court records, Steward pulled two knives from his waistband and walked toward the officers as they ordered him to drop the weapons.

Fisher and Orrell fired six bullets at Steward, who fell. They immediately began life-saving measures, but he was declared dead at 4:16 p.m., according to court records.

Steward spent years in prison for rape, robbery, burglary and assault in Grant County in 1993, according to his criminal record. He was released in 2011 and registered as a level-three sex offender.

According to a department news release, Fisher joined the department in May 2014 and previously worked four years as a deputy for the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in Florence, Arizona. Fisher also served four years in the Army, including one tour in Iraq.

Orrell, a 2006 Eastern Washington University graduate, joined the department in April 2018. Before that, he worked 11 years for the Wenatchee Police Department.