Police say woman attacked by man she tried to help after he stumbled into the street

From staff reports

A woman was attacked by a man after trying to give him a bottle of water in East Spokane, police said.

Around 7 a.m. Saturday, the woman was driving north on Napa Street near Trent Avenue when she saw a man stumble into traffic and fall, according to a news release from the Spokane Police Department.

She called 911 to help the man, and he came over to her car and asked for a bottle of water, the release said. Another driver also had stopped, and she got out of her car and got a bottle of water from that driver to give the man.

The pedestrian then ran off and slammed into a concrete wall, so she walked over to see whether he was injured. That’s when he pulled her to the ground and started choking her, the release said.

Fearing for her life, the woman ran to her car as the man chased after her, so the other driver tried to help, police said. The man allegedly tried to pull her from her car until the other driver stopped him.

Injuries on the woman’s neck were consistent with her description of the incident, and police said they arrested Robert M. Fisher, 28, on suspicion of second-degree assault after he was medically cleared at a local hospital.

He remained in the Spokane County Jail Wednesday night on a $5,000 bond, the jail’s roster shows.