Homeless man rescued from Spokane River as city workers clear his camp

A man was rescued from the Spokane River Thursday morning near the T.J. Meenach Bridge after Spokane police say he waded across the fast-moving water as code enforcement cleared away his camp.

Officer Ryan Snider with the Spokane Police Department said police and city code enforcement began clearing the camp, which is a few hundred feet down from the bridge past a parking lot at the base of Doomsday Hill, some time before 8:30 a.m. The fire department responded shortly after to a water rescue call.

Snider said after officials began talking to the man and others, he slowly walked into the river and stood still in waist-deep water. He then waded across the river, where he was picked up on the other side by water rescue personnel.

“He was pulled out,” Snider said. “He’s fine.”