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Spokane Co. Prosecutor rules Deputy Sheriff's use of deadly force justified

Investigators never found a weapon on Ethan Murray, but determined the object he pointed was a pair of black sunglasses.

SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office determined that Spokane County Deputy Sheriff Joseph Wallace was justified in his use of lethal force against Ethan Murray Friday.

Wallace shot and killed Murray, 25, at the Mirabeau Apartments in Spokane Valley back in May. Deputies received reports Murray was running around the complex without a shirt and behaving strangely, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Witnesses advised Wallace Murray was “threatening children,” according to the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office. Wallace chased Murray outside the complex while yelling commands and identifying himself as a deputy by saying, “Police stop,” according to the prosecutor’s office.

The two eventually faced off a few feet from one another, and Murray became confrontational and aggressive towards Wallace, according to the prosecutor’s office. Murray took a defensive stance and raised his arms as if he would punch Wallace, the prosecutor’s office said. 

Wallace feared an attack was imminent and drew his firearm and directed it at the ground in front of Murray, according to the prosecutor’s office. Wallace yelled for Murray to show his hands, to which Murray responded, “you can’t make me,” according to the prosecutor’s office.

Murray then said “it’s just you and me” and pulled what the officer believed to be a knife out of his pants pocket, the prosecutor’s office said. Wallace yelled for Murray to “put it down,” but Murray did not comply and he quickly advanced on Wallace holding the object in an offensive position, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Believing Murray meant to stab him, Wallace pointed his pistol and shot Murray several times, the prosecutor’s office said. Investigators never found a weapon on Murray, but determined the object Murray pulled from his pocket was a pair of black sunglasses, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Murray’s mother said he was not violent, but he struggled with mental illness and drug addiction. In 2014, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to his mother, Justine Murray.

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The prosecutor’s office said Wallace was justified because he had a reasonable belief that Murray was armed with a deadly weapon and posed a threat to him. Therefore, no criminal liability attaches and no criminal charges will be filed in this matter, the prosecutor’s office said.

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