SPOKANE, Wash. — The two Spokane police officers who shot and killed a man they were interviewing as part of an arson investigation have been identified.
The Spokane Police Department (SPD) identified the officers as Brandon Roy and Andrew Willis. The two men shot and killed 38-year-old Alan Jenks, who was living at the West Central home at the time of the fire. Jenks was not responsible for the fire but allegedly shot a gun at Roy and Willis while being questioned.
According to SPD, officers and Spokane Fire were called to a house on West Dean Avenue on Sunday night. When they arrived, they removed multiple people from the burning home and began speaking with them. They learned the incident was possible arson and the suspected arsonist was no longer on the property.
Roy and Willis continued interviewing the residents when Jenks reportedly stopped cooperating and tried to walk away. The two officers tried to detain him, at which point he allegedly pulled out a gun and fired a shot at the officers. At that point, the two officers fired their guns, hitting and killing Jenks.
No officers, firefighters or civilians were injured during the shooting.
The man accused of starting the fire, Nicholes Whitney, was arrested on Tuesday and is currently in the Spokane County Jail.
As is police protocol, Roy and Willis have been placed on administrative leave. They were equipped with body cameras at the time of the incident.
The Spokane Independent Investigative Response team (SIIR) will conduct the investigation. The SIIR team is comprised of multiple agencies in Eastern Washington including the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol and the Spokane Police Department.
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