Police name officer who shot at alleged burglar

Spokane police have released the name of the officer who shot at and missed a burglary suspect Tuesday at a Chinese restaurant on North Division Street. Officer James Erickson, a 19-year veteran of the Spokane Police Department, fired multiple times at the suspect, 34-year-old Cephas Parham, who is said to have brandished a fake gun designed to look real. Erickson missed but later arrested Parham during a violent struggle outside the Peking North restaurant. Erickson is a decorated officer. The police department listed his accomplishments and honors, including a state Medal of Honor and a Spokane Police Department Medal of Valor in 2002 for his actions in an August 2001 incident in which he, along with Officer Shane Oien, fatally shot a gunman who had fired on police downtown in the Peyton Building. Erickson also received a Lifesaving Medal in 1999 after he arrived at a domestic violence call and found a man hanging from a tree with an electrical cord around his neck. Erickson was able to lift the man and untie the cord to save his life.