By Alexandra Duggan
The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Newly released security footage outside Evergreen Middle School from Tuesday shows a man pointing what appears to be a handgun at a Spokane Valley deputy.
The video was released Friday by the Spokane Police Department, the agency investigating the shooting.
It shows a man, later identified as 20-year-old Joel Malin, rushing up to a Spokane Valley deputy’s patrol vehicle. Within three seconds, he raises what appears to be a gun and takes a shooter’s stance. The video ends before the deputy shoots Malin, who died at the scene.
Rondi Thorp, the Malin family’s attorney, previously told reporters that Malin did not “intend to shoot” and that she wished police would “slow down and really see what’s happening before they run in.”
“His mother does not believe he would have ever hurt anyone and she says he was a big, soft teddy bear,” Thorp wrote in a statement earlier this week. She said he was autistic and previously attended Evergreen, where he felt safe. He left home near the school that day around 10:45 a.m. to buy breakfast, Thorp wrote.
Investigators later found what appeared to be a realistic replica of a gun at the scene.
The 911 caller initially reported a suspicious person approaching the school, and later said the person was armed with a black and silver Glock 19. The caller described a tall white man in his 20s wearing a green trench coat. In the next five minutes, the deputy encountered Malin in the school bus lane, where the video footage was captured.
In a statement following the release of the footage, Thorp called the information a tragedy for Malin’s family.
“We need better attention and resources for kids who struggle with mental health issues and we need to end bullying in our schools,” Thorp said in the statement Friday.
Thorp also praised Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall for releasing video footage of the shooting within days of the incident, saying families often wait years to obtain that type of evidence. Thorp called on other agencies to release video footage the same week in an effort to be more transparent.
“Joel’s death is a horrible tragedy and will affect his family and many members of his community for years,” she wrote.
Hall wrote in an email to The Spokesman-Review Friday evening that he released the footage because he saw “a grieving mother who had a multitude of questions.”
Hall said he understands the way Washington law is written to protect police investigations, but added that departments can be transparent while also protecting the integrity of an investigation. Withholding information that is legally subject for release can erode public trust, he wrote.
“When we can release verified information without compromising an investigation, we should do so,” Hall said. “Grieving mothers deserve timely answers about what happened to their deceased loved ones. Our community deserves facts, not an information vacuum that can create speculation, misinformation, and distrust. And our officers and deputies deserve a process that allows their actions to be evaluated based on facts.”
At the time of the call, the school quickly went into lockdown. Some students witnessed the shooting, according to previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review . Students and staff were later evacuated to a nearby church, and parents were reunited with their children.
The deputy who shot Malin is a school resource officer in the Central Valley School District and has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure when a deputy uses deadly force. His name will likely be released by investigators in the coming weeks.
Hall said the deputy was likely traumatized and Malin’s parents were grieving, a reason he wants to “advocate for greater transparency when the law prevents us from doing more.”
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