A 33-year-old man has been charged with assaulting a police officer who was trying to arrest a burglary suspect who was shot and killed by police at a north Spokane Walmart on Sunday.
Spokane police said in a news release Thursday that 35-year-old Carl Richardson was the officer who fired the gun, killing 34-year-old Kelly Jones-Hilberg.
According to a news release from the Spokane Independent Investigation and Response Team, which is investigating the shooting, 33-year-old Tyler Forrester was arrested by police after two Spokane police officers contacted Jones-Hilberg at the store on suspicion of shoplifting. approached one of them from behind.
Investigators said Forrester bumped into and pushed the officer, causing the officer’s attention to be diverted from Jones-Hillberg and toward Forrester.
Investigators said in a release that Jones-Hilberg resisted arrest and Richardson fired the gun.
Witnesses and Walmart loss prevention employees helped identify Forrester. Forester was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Wednesday on charges of third-degree assault on a police officer and interfering with a police officer.
Mr. Forrester made his first appearance in Spokane County Superior Court on Thursday and is scheduled for arraignment on December 19th. Mr. Forrester remained in jail Thursday on $5,000 bail.
Richardson has been with the Spokane Police Department since 2019 and previously served as a deputy in Madison County, Montana, for three years, Spokane Police said.
He grew up in Spokane, attended Northwest Christian High School, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Whitworth University.
Anyone who witnessed or recorded the incident or has information that could help the investigation and has not yet been contacted by law enforcement is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233 and reference incident number 10180498. You will be asked for it.