Man shot by Spokane County deputies after domestic violence call Sunday afternoon

A man was shot in Spokane Valley on Sunday afternoon after Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a domestic violence call.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich confirmed the man was shot after reports he was assaulting his girlfriend and their 2-year-old child, but said he couldn’t offer many more details because of a new state initiative, I-940, which deals with independent investigations of deadly force incidents.

Deputies responded to the call just before 4:30 p.m. at the intersection of North Pines Road and East Cataldo Avenue, and found the man outside, Knezovich said.

“They found him outside, surrounded by multiple weapons,” the sheriff said. “As in, the suspect had multiple weapons at his disposal. Deputies began giving orders. Shots were fired. And that’s just about as much as I can give you, due to the new state law.”

Knezovich said as of a little before 7 p.m., the man was alive and being treated at the hospital. The Washington State Patrol is leading a multi-agency investigation into the shooting.

The state law, initially passed by voters and revised by the Legislature, “has become a problem,” Knezovich told reporters near the scene of the shooting.

“Usually we’d have certain things locked down for investigators,” Knezovich said. “Now, the investigators will have to go out and look for shell casings, in tall grass, at night.”

Knezovich said investigators had not found any damage to surrounding homes. No deputies were injured in the incident.

Investigators closed a portion of Cataldo headed east toward Pines Road for the evening, and the sheriff anticipated they’d be there for several hours.