SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Two deputies will not receive any criminal charges after they shot and killed a man last year, the Spokane County Prosecutor announced Friday.
Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell determined that Spokane County Sheriff's Deputies Brent Miller and Matt Peterson were justified in fatally shooting 30-year-old Bjorn Manycolors in June 2023. According to Haskell, both Miller and Peterson "were placed in fear for their lives" and shot Manycolors in self-defense. Therefore, no charges will be filed.
On the evening of June 3, 2023, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said Miller and Peterson were driving in a patrol car near the Rodeway Inn in Spokane Valley. The two were searching for a man with an active warrant who was known to hang out around the motel.
Shortly after midnight on June 4, Nowels said Miller and Peterson saw a man, later identified as Manycolors, who reportedly looked like the suspect walking south on North Dyer Road. The officers contacted Manycolors and asked for his name, which he reportedly refused to give them.
Manycolors also denied having any arrest warrants, according to the sheriff, but it was later found out he had two active warrants at the time.
Miller and Peterson tried to detain him, but at some point, Manycolors reportedly shot at the deputies twice before running away and shooting at them twice more. Miller and Peterson both shot back at Manycolors, hitting and killing him. The Spokane County Medical Examiner determined Manycolor's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso and right leg and ruled his death a homicide.
The prosecutor said the deadly use of force was authorized, and no charges will be filed against them.
This was not the first time Miller has shot and killed a suspect while working with the sheriff's office. In 2020, he shot and killed 25-year-old Clando Anitok after he reportedly ignored commands following a short pursuit. The Spokane County Prosecutor's Office ultimately ruled Miller was justified in his use of lethal force and, again, would not face charges.
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