Major Crimes Detectives Investigation Dispels Concerns Circulated on Social Media of a “Carjacking” and Assault
Over the past few days, social media posts have been circulating, drawing the attention of citizens and local news outlets. These posts contained allegations regarding an adult male who was assaulted and his vehicle stolen on August 18, 2019. No report of this incident was made at the time these posts began to circulate, but the male in question had been admitted to a hospital in critical condition and not expected to survive. Investigators located video which disproves these allegations, clearly showing the male suffered what appears to be a medical episode, not a criminal assault.
Early this week, Spokane Valley Sheriff’s Deputies began receiving inquiries regarding a social media post that was being circulated. These posts alleged an adult male was “attacked” before stumbling into a parking lot where he collapsed. Additional information indicated the male was admitted to a hospital and not expected to survive.
Reviewing previous calls for service, it was discovered nothing like this was ever reported to the Spokane Valley Police, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, or the Spokane Police Department. However, hospital staff had contacted SPD requesting their help identifying a male who had been admitted in critical condition and not expected to survive. The vehicle the male was associated with had not reported as stolen.
Looking back through calls for service, a medical call was located on August 18th at 1:30 a.m., reporting a male was having trouble breathing in the 6300 block of E. Broadway. The caller went on to say the male “is od’ing”. The unidentified, unconscious male was provided medical treatment and transported to the hospital in critical condition.
The male was identified with the assistance of law enforcement agencies and attempts to contact his family were made.
On August 26, 2019, a family member of the male filed a report regarding the possible assault and theft of a vehicle. The information provided was from the unconfirmed information circulated on social media.
Major Crimes Detectives began to investigate the allegations and located a surveillance video which clearly showed the male walking by himself, uninjured. He then appears to suffer some type of medical episode before collapsing and thrashing around on the ground. At no time was the male assaulted. Medical personnel arrived soon after, provided care, and transported him to the hospital.
Due to the medical nature of the call and lack of any criminal allegation or assault reported, law enforcement was not notified of the incident. At last known, the male remained in critical condition and not expected to survive.
With the evidence collected showing no assault or associated crime, this investigation has been closed. The whereabouts of the dog, mentioned in the social media posts, is not known.