3 undercover detectives fired shots in Moran Prairie standoff, identities have not been released

Three undercover detectives exchanged gunfire with 49-year-old Jeremy Bausch earlier this month, resulting in a three-hour Moran Prairie standoff with the man who had allegedly threatened to kill his mother and pointed a gun at deputies.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Mark Gregory, a spokesman for the department, declined to release the names of the detectives because of their undercover status.

He said the sheriff’s office will release the names but not anytime soon. The detectives, who Gregory said have a total of 22 years of combined service, were placed on administrative leave, per standard protocol in an officer-involved shooting.

The sheriff’s office determines when involved deputies’ names are released to the public, according to the Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team’s officer-involved shooting protocol. It can release information about the deputies’ employment history and job performance, but is prohibited from releasing information that could affect the integrity of the investigation.

Meanwhile, Gregory said Tuesday that Bausch is still in the hospital. Bausch had serious but not life-threatening wounds, according to a sheriff’s office release hours after the standoff.

The incident started the night of April 12 when Bausch is alleged to have pointed a pistol at two deputies who responded to Bausch’s home, 5509 S. Glenrose Road, to assist Frontier Behavioral Health in detaining Bausch for a mental health evaluation, according to search warrant documents. The sheriff’s office said the mental health professionals were trying to apprehend Bausch because he threatened to kill his mother.

Documents say one of the deputies familiar with Bausch knew he was schizophrenic and, when in a “symptomatic state,” was homicidal and had made “suicide by cop” statements.

Bausch called one of the deputies a “vandal,” saying deputies were not welcome at the house and accused deputies of attacking him. One of the deputies, who were outside, used his flashlight to illuminate himself so Bausch, who was inside his home, could see he was a law enforcement officer.

Bausch allegedly yelled, “Leave my house,” and pointed a black semiautomatic handgun at the two deputies, according to documents.

Bausch could be heard saying, “I’m not entirely Jeremy,” and “You don’t know Jeremy’s,” from inside the home before one of the deputies shined the flashlight on himself, according to body cam footage mentioned in court records. The footage allegedly showed Bausch pointing what appeared to be a pistol in the deputies’ direction.

The two deputies eventually left the property, documents say.

Sheriff’s deputies conducted surveillance on Bausch the next day, having developed probable cause to arrest Bausch on suspicion of second-degree robbery and unlawful imprisonment from an April 8 incident, and two counts of second-degree assault for pointing the gun at deputies.

While surveilling Bausch, he left his residence and drove to the nearby Safeway, 3010 E. 57th Ave., court records show. One of the deputies saw Bausch get into a verbal altercation with a Safeway customer. Bausch then got back into his vehicle and drove back to his house.

Deputies tried to contact Bausch as he was returning to his residence. At about 6:17 p.m., deputies and Bausch exchanged gunfire and Bausch retreated into the garage. At about 6:19 p.m., there was “more gunfire exchange by deputies.”

Spokane police officers saw deputies shooting but never saw Bausch, documents say.

Deputies and Spokane police surrounded the house, which Bausch was believed to have entered after running into the garage. Several unsuccessful attempts to contact Bausch were made. Bausch exited the house after gas and a flashbang were deployed into the home.

Bausch then allegedly failed to comply with officers’ commands and they used a stun gun on him. He was arrested.

Bausch appeared to have a gunshot wound to the torso and an injury to one of his legs, documents say. The windshield of a white Ford F-150 undercover vehicle in front of the home appeared to have been shot.

The Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team is investigating the shooting.

S-R reporter Quinn Welsch contributed to this report.