SPOKANE — A man suspected of raping a child was shot by Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies after an hourslong standoff with law enforcement Friday night near Deer Park, according to Sheriff John Nowels.
Nowels told reporters the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office was trying to arrest the man, whose identity was not released, on Friday on a felony warrant for first-degree child rape in Stevens County. The man was supposed to go to trial this week on the charge, but he failed to appear in court and an arrest warrant was issued, Nowels said.
The Stevens County Sheriff’s Office located the man at a residence in the 30300 block of North Monroe Road southwest of Deer Park. Nowels said the man came out of the home but refused to cooperate with the sheriff’s office.
Nowels said the man asked deputies to shoot him and said he would not give up. The sheriff’s office got other residents in the home outside and into a safe location.
Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who were called at about 2:30 p.m. to assist, arrived at the home, and the man continued to refuse to follow commands from law enforcement on scene.
Crisis negotiators also tried to get him to surrender, but he refused, Nowels said.
He said the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team was called because he was uncooperative and barricaded in the home.
For the next several hours, the man came out of the home, stood on the front porch, taking a few steps toward the SWAT team and crisis negotiators but then returned to the porch. He did not get close enough to law enforcement where he could be safely taken into custody, Nowels said.
“At no time did the subject ever cooperate with the team,” Nowels said. “Although he would indicate that he was going to give himself up, he never would.”
The SWAT team deployed “chemical munitions” into the home so he would not return inside. He eventually went back inside and maintained phone contact with negotiators.
The SWAT team deployed more munitions into the home and continued to give more warnings for the man to exit, Nowels said.
He said the team then breached the front door of the home but was unable to see him inside. SWAT team members then breached an adjacent door to a shed attached to the home, and entered but still did not locate the suspect.
They finally got through a large window of the home.
“As that occurred, shots were fired by sheriff’s office SWAT team members and they immediately took positions of cover,” Nowels said.
It’s unclear whether the suspect had a weapon. Shots were fired at about 6 p.m.
Three deputies fired their weapons and were placed on administrative leave, per standard officer shooting protocol, Nowels said.
The Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team is investigating.
