Spokane police officers’ 2021 fatal shooting near Bigelow Gulch deemed justified

The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office has determined that two deputies were justified in killing a man near Bigelow Gulch more than three years ago, the office said in a news release.

Spokane County Sheriffs’ deputy Ashley Hood, working during her first year of employment in the county, and Deputy Kyle Leavenworth, were dispatched to search for a car believed to be stolen in December 2021. The driver, later identified as Michael Dingman, had active arrest warrants for unlawful possession of a firearm and burglary, according to previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review.

The two deputies believed Dingman had fled and later found him hiding near a shed on Bigelow Gulch Road.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Dingman stole two rifles from the shed and pointed them at the deputies. When he failed to comply to commands to drop the guns, both deputies shot their guns at him. He was pronounced dead on scene, the press release said.

Dingman’s rifles were not loaded, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Dingman was a sex offender who had multiple criminal convictions in Spokane dating back to 2001. He was charged with burglary in March 2021 and unlawful possession of a firearm in June 2021. There was an active warrant for his arrest on those cases at the time of his death, according to court records.