Spokane, Wash – (Release from Spokane Police Department) This morning Tuesday, December 6, 2022, at about 7:45 a.m., Spokane Police Department (SPD) responded to numerous calls of a man shooting a gun in the air in the area of Howard and Spokane Falls Blvd. When officers arrived the man was walking through traffic on the Blvd headed toward Riverfront Park. Officers gave commands to the man to take his hands out of his pockets and comply with law enforcement. The officers were able to safely arrest the man without incident in the middle of the street with vehicles stopped and surrounding the scene.
No one was struck by the gunfire but the suspect pointed his weapon at three people including two in a vehicle that hit a structure trying to get out of the way. Officers recovered more than 2 dozen shell casings and a semi-automatic pistol in the area. Spokane Falls Blvd. was closed for a time as SPD continued the investigation and processed the scene.
Benjamin M. Crofoot, age 45, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on three counts of 1st Degree Assault, 28 counts of Reckless Endangerment and one count of Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm.