Airway Heights police shoot, kill man with knife

An Airway Heights police officer on Friday shot and killed a man who “confronted officers with a knife,” according to the police department.

Officers responded about 11:50 a.m. to a report of a suspicious person at a home located at 1107 S. Lundstrom St., police said in a news release. The caller reported a man hosed himself off outside, threw things at them and then walked inside a residence that was for sale. The male was reportedly “high,” according to the release.

An officer contacted the real estate agent for the home, and the agent told the officer no one should be inside the house. Witnesses reported the man was about 5-foot-4, was not wearing a shirt and exhibited strange behavior, police said.

Officers made announcements for the man to exit the home, but he did not. Police entered the residence and contacted the man, who was screaming at them unintelligibly, the release said.

Officers used a stun gun, but that was ineffective, police said. The suspect then confronted officers with a knife and an officer fired his weapon, striking the man. The man died at the scene. No one else was hurt.

According to search warrant documents filed Monday in Spokane County Superior Court, a neighbor reported seeing what appeared to be a “squatter” at the residence and police responded to investigate. The neighbor heard the suspect in the house say, “You’re gonna have to shoot me.” The neighbor then heard someone say, “Put it down,” before shots were fired.

Court documents indicate one Airway Heights officer fired his weapon while two other Airway Heights officers and a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputy “witnessed” the incident.

The deputy who responded to the scene said she heard the officers in the house say they were holding someone in place with a stun gun. She went inside and found water on the floor, a shirt and human feces.

She said the officer who eventually fired his gun was in the doorway to the bathroom with his firearm out and another Airway Heights officer had his stun gun out. The deputy told the officers she would go “hands on” with the man.

The man was screaming something unintelligible, she said. The third Airway Heights officer then walked in the house. The suspect appeared to be in the bathtub.

One of the officers deployed a stun gun, and the man yelled something unclear again, she said. Then, one of the officers said, “Knife, shoot him” and “Knife, knife.”

The deputy said she heard two gunshots. One of the officers pulled the man into the living room and they found two wounds, one on his shoulder and another in his armpit.

The deputy said she gave aid to the unresponsive man and started CPR. Fire personnel then took over aid.

The deputy, who was relieved from her security duties at the scene, said the knife was in the doorway to the bathroom and two shell casings would be outside the doorway. Police never were able to identify the man, according to court documents.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the name of the man who was killed.

Per standard protocol, the officers involved in the shooting will be placed on leave, according to the release. Officers were equipped with body cameras.

The Spokane Independent Investigative Response team will conduct the investigation with the Spokane Police Department leading the investigation.

Once the investigation is complete, the case will be forwarded to the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review.