Bloglander

Last week’s fatal gunfight between a shotgun-toting man and Spokane Police involved so many officers that the department has had to place six on paid administrative leave while their roles in the shooting are investigated.

The fatal encounter with Ethan Corporon, 29, took place near the busy intersection of Monroe, Indiana and Northwest Boulevard at about 3 pm — when police had overlapping shifts.

Four of the officers on leave are from day shift patrol, two from swing shift, Spokane County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan writes in an e-mail. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting.

Such a sizeable loss of manpower is creating a juggling act for police to fill the shifts, depending on who had what days off and what shift, Assistant Chief Jim Nicks says.

“With that amount of people gone, it may require overtime,” he says.