Medical examiner identifies man shot and killed by Spokane Police officer

Erin Robinson by Erin Robinson

The Spokane County Medical Examiner identified the man shot and killed by a Spokane Police officer near Garnet and Thor on Wednesday.

The medical examiner said 61-year-old David W. Shafer died when he was shot twice in the torso and ruled his cause of death a homicide.

Police Chief Craig Meidl said the call was initially a suicide call. Police were called to the area just before 2:00 p.m.

Two people who knew the suspect called 911 after attempting to calm him down and managing to get one gun away from him, Meidl said.

According to police, the man went back into his house, and came back outside with another gun. An officer near the man ordered him to drop his gun, but he did not comply, and turned to the officer with his gun pointed. The officer then shot him.

Police confirmed that officer involved had a body camera that was on and recorded the shooting.

#BREAKING: @SpokanePD are investigating an officer-involved shooting in a neighborhood on the 3400-block of Garnet & Thor. @kxly4news pic.twitter.com/vYjDIzrt8C

— Nikki Torres (@NikkiKXLY) October 23, 2019

Currently the Spokane Investigative Regional Response (SIRR) Team is processing evidence and investigating the scene. They will be reviewing body camera footage, and encourage any residents nearby with surveillance video of the incident to notify detectives for the investigation.

The scene is close to Cooper Elementary. Police had been in touch with the school and campus resource officers were assisting children walking home.

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