HAYDEN, ID-- Neighbors are stepping up to defend the Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy at the center of a deadly shooting. Police in Spokane have yet to interview Deputy Brian Hirzel.
Hirzel killed Pastor Scott Creach last Wednesday night. It all happened in the parking lot of Creach’s business.
For the first time since the shooting, someone close to the Hirzel family. Questions surround the deadly shooting of Pastor Creach. What is know is that there was a confrontation between he and Deputy Hirzel at Creach’s business. It’s also known Hirzel pulled the trigger.
Tuesday, outside Deputy Hirzel’s Hayden home, A neighbor, identified only as Debra, defended the man under the microscope. She says it’s a hard situation for everyone and his family is going through the same thing the Creach family is going through. She calls the family good people.
KREM 2 News checked into Deputy Hirzel’s history as a patrol officer with Cathedral City Police in California. One disciplinary action marks his 13 years of service. It involved spending too much time writing tickets in a high school parking lot in 2002. The local newspaper, “The Desert Sun” reports he and another officer reportedly received counseling for the incident. Since then, this is the first controversial case he’s been involved in.
Debra calls the situation sad and says it’s scary being in law enforcement. She says maybe people have forgotten about the west side and what happened to those officers everyday, but it isn’t forgotten by the officers who work everyday. She described Deputy Hirzel as a sweet, nice man, and great father.
The Kootenati County Sheriff’s Office where he worked for four years, would not comment or release any information on his time there.
