(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
CHEWELAH, Wash. -Wednesday evening, Chewelah Police Officers, assisted by Stevens County Sheriff’s Deputies, responded to a domestic violence call where the suspect reportedly assaulted his wife and would not allow her to leave their residence, in the 800 block of W. Robert Avenue in Chewelah.
During the incident a Stevens County Deputy fired his weapon after the suspect pointed a handgun, equipped with a laser, at the Deputy and a Chewelah Police Officer.
The victim reported she had been assaulted by her husband, 82-year-old Byron Parmenter, and he was preventing her from leaving their residence. The victim was afraid and stated Byron had access to several weapons.
The victim was eventually able to flee out the back of the residence and contacted Officers and Deputies who had arrived at the scene. Byron barricaded himself inside the residence, failed to follow multiple commands to surrender, and told Officers to get back or he would shoot them as he waived around a handgun.
At one point, as a Stevens County Deputy and his partner, a Chewelah Police Officer moved back from a position near the residence toward cover, the Deputy observed Byron point his handgun, equipped with a laser, toward him and the Officer. The Deputy fired his service weapon at the suspect while he and the Officer continued to cover.
A short time later as Officers continued to give commands, Byron exited out the back of the residence. He continued to disregard commands and remained defiant. Not knowing if he was still armed, Chewelah Police K9 Officer Matt Miller deployed his partner K9 Rebel. K9 Rebel quickly closed distance and made contact with Byron taking him to the ground where he was safely taken into custody.
Byron was not shot but received medical attention at the scene do to the K9 contact. He was transported and booked into the Stevens County Jail after he was medically cleared. Byron faces charges of Assault 1st Degree (2 counts), Assault 4th Degree (DV), and Unlawful Imprisonment.
The victim received minor injuries from the assault. None of the Officers or Deputies were injured during this incident.
The Officer Involved Critical Incident Protocol was enacted and SIRR Team investigators responded to the scene to conduct the investigation and process evidence. The SIRR Team is comprised of multiple agencies in eastern Washington, including the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Spokane Valley Police Department, Spokane Police Department, and the Washington State Patrol.
• The Spokane Police Department is the case managing agency in this incident. All future communications regarding this investigation will be sent via the SIRR Team.
• The Stevens County Sheriff’s Office will release the name of the deputy involved in the incident when appropriate to do so.
• Once the SIRR Team investigation is complete, the case will be forwarded to the Stevens County Prosecutor’s Office for review.