SPOKANE VALLEY-- Spokane Police say Deputy Brian Hirzel is the officer who shot Spokane Valley Pastor Wayne Scott Creach last Wednesday.
Spokane police and the Washington State Patrol continue their investigation of the shooting. Officer Jennifer DeRuwe says Hirzel had parked his patrol car in the parking lot of Creach's nursery, the Plant Farm, and there was a confrontation between him and 74-year-old. The pastor was hit by a single gunshot.
Hirzel has been with the department for only a few years, but has been in law enforcement for more than a decade.
KREM 2 News has learned is that Hirzel recently transferred from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. He was a deputy there for two year. Before that, he was a police officer in Cathedral City, California for 13 years, that’s just outside Palm Springs.
When going through the KREM 2 News archives, we also found Hirzel's name. Back in 2009, 19-year-old Robbie Bishop was accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend and hiding from the police under a house. Deputy Hirzel was the one who found him and pulled him out.
Creach’s family found out the officer’s name after the memorial service Monday. What they still don’t know is why he pulled the trigger.
Hirzel is on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
