(STORY PHOTO:KHQ.COM)
The officer-involved shooting near Perry and Dalton is still under investigation, but cell phone video and witnesses are giving an idea of what happened Sunday evening.
Most people were doing yard work or playing outside on Sunday, but then, neighbors say they feared for their safety.
Witnesses say a man got out of the car and let it roll down the hill. A police officer had to ram the car to prevent it from rolling into a busy intersection. The man who got out of the car then pulled out a knife.
“I had my family go up in the house and he had run up the street,” says Beau Johnson.
Spokane police got the call for a reckless driver and then additional calls about a man threatening neighbors with a knife.
They say officers tried talking to the man. In the video, you can hear the man yelling at police “shoot me” and “I’m not going to prison for the rest of my life.” You can hear the officer say that he didn’t want to shoot him and continue to command him to get on the ground.
Police said they tried tasing the man, but it didn’t work. Things continued to escalate, and witnesses say after the man started to go for officers, that’s when the shots were fired.
Neighbors are hoping for the best, and they say they think the police did everything they could.
At last word from officials, the man is in the hospital in stable conditio