Sheriff: Spokane County sergeant killed in I-90 crash served community on and off duty ‘without fanfare’

Spokane County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kenneth Salas’ service to the community didn’t stop when he took off his uniform at the end of his shift.

The 59-year-old deputy who was struck and killed by a motorcyclist over the weekend while helping clear a large hay bale from Interstate 90 always lent a hand to others while on and off duty, according to Sheriff John Nowels.

“Ken was probably the most mild-mannered, even-tempered person you could ever hope to meet,” Nowels told reporters at a news conference Wednesday about Salas. “He did what he did without a lot of fanfare.”

Nowels, who worked alongside and supervised Salas the past 28 years, said, for example, Salas’ neighbor called him her “security blanket.”

The neighbor had lost her husband, but she always knew she was safe in her home with Salas in the neighborhood.

“That was a great comfort to her, to know that Ken was there next door,” Nowels said. “And whenever she needed anything, Ken was there.”

Nowels said multiple people inside and outside the sheriff’s office have shared what Salas meant to them since Salas’ death Saturday.

In uniform, Salas served 34 years with the sheriff’s office and more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and Washington Air National Guard.

“Service is what Ken was,” Nowels said.

On Saturday morning, a hay bale fell off a trailer and landed in the left lane of I-90 near the Four Lakes exit, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Salas noticed the road hazard and used his patrol car to block the lane, and he and the driver hauling hay got out of their vehicles to remove the bale from the interstate. A motorcyclist struck the patrol car and Salas, sending the sergeant and the motorcyclist to the hospital, WSP said.

Salas died at the hospital, and the motorcyclist was in serious but stable condition Saturday.

Salas is the first Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy to die in the line of duty since Deputy James Slater died in a crash while responding to a call in 2003.

“It’s moments like these where it’s brought to the forefront that what we do truly is about serving other people,” Nowels said. “And in Sgt. Salas’ final act, he was helping somebody clear debris off of a roadway. And I promise you, law enforcement officers and firefighters and first responders do this hundreds of times a week without much thought to ‘This might be where I lose my life.’ ”

He said the sheriff’s office received a tremendous outpouring of support since Salas’ death.

Flowers could be seen Wednesday at the base of the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Project outside the Public Safety Building in Spokane.

Many deputies have been stopped on the street by members of the public who gave their condolences, according to Nowels. Law enforcement leaders from across the state also reached out to Nowels extending their empathy and support.

Nowels said four people even stopped him at the grocery story earlier this week saying they were sorry for his loss.

“I wasn’t in uniform,” Nowels said. “I was just dressed in my civilian clothes going to buy stuff for dinner. That means a lot.”

Nowels was also moved during a procession Tuesday when first responders transported Salas’ body from the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office to a funeral home. Police officers and the general public saluted.

“The number of motorists who saw something coming at them, they recognized what it was, they got out of their cars and saluted Sgt. Salas as we went by,” Nowels said. “That’s pretty meaningful. It’s meaningful to the men and women who were there.”

Nowels said Salas’ group of 14 deputies who worked under him during his dayshift returned to work Wednesday for the first time since the fatal crash. Nowels said they’ve been communicating with the deputies to make sure they’re OK to return and have the resources they need.

“Members of his team were some of the first on scene to provide aid to him, and as you can imagine, that’s pretty tough to process,” he said.

Nowels said the deputies get very close to each other when working together every day.

“We’re expecting them to go out and do their job the way they’ve always done it, and do it professionally, carrying a pretty big weight on their back,” Nowels said.

Nowels described Salas as a “servant leader” Saturday, just hours after his death, and said the deputies who worked under him loved working for him.

Salas planned to retire at the end of September on his 60th birthday.

“Minutes before his life was taken, you know, he was Ken, he was Sarge, he was the guy that they were getting ready to send off into retirement,” Nowels said.

The Sheriff’s Community Oriented Policing Effort, Behind the Badge Foundation and Canopy Credit Union partnered to open a memorial fund account for Salas’ family.

Those who wish to donate can contact any Canopy Credit Union branch and ask to donate to the S.C.O.P.E./Sgt. Salas Memorial Fund. Checks can be dropped off at the Spokane Valley Police Department and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Donations can also be made via Venmo by scanning a QR Code at this link: account.venmo.com/u/SPOKANESCOPE.

The donated funds will help cover funeral expenses, and remaining funds will go to the Salas family. Salas is survived by his wife.

Behind the Badge is helping with funeral arrangements.

No one has been charged in the crash, and WSP is investigating. Nowels reiterated Wednesday the crash was an accident.

“Sometimes accidents happen and somebody is taken from us in a way that you just can’t anticipate and sometimes is impossible to prevent,” he said.

Nowels said incidents like these also remind deputies they’re not invincible.

“When public servants do swear an oath and they do put on that uniform, they remove their personality from that job,” Nowels said. “They become part of something in this community that is not about the individual, it’s about an organization, it’s about representing a community, it’s about being part of something that’s far bigger than they are. And when something like this happens, it kind of tears at that identity a little bit, because it reminds us that we’re not invincible, we’re not immortal.”