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| W. Scott Creach in April 2008. |
A Southern Baptist pastor and owner of a Spokane Valley plant nursery was shot and killed by a Spokane Valley police officer late Wednesday, police said.
W. Scott Creach, 74, approached the police officer who had gone to his business before midnight after police had received a request for increased patrols there earlier in the day, police said.
The uniformed officer was parked in an unmarked car in the empty parking lot of Creach’s businesses, the Plant Farm at 14208 E. Fourth Ave. and Creach Greenhouse adjacent to the Plant Farm.
Creach, who lives next door to his nursery and has served as pastor of Greenacres Baptist Church for 40 years, approached the officer. A confrontation ensued, according to police.
The officer fired his weapon, according to a news release from Spokane police spokeswoman Jennifer DeRuwe.
A handgun was found on the ground next to Creach after the shooting.
The request for patrols was passed along to the graveyard shift, but DeRuwe refused to say who made the request for extra patrols.
Spokane police were investigating the incident under a protocol that calls for city police to investigate officer-involved incidents taking place in the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, which staffs Spokane Valley Police.
DeRuwe declined provide the officer’s name, how many shots were fired and by whom, whether the officer tried to contact the business owner prior to driving into the parking in the lot in an unmarked police car.
A worker at the greenhouses said that Creach had been protecting his property for 15 years and had gone out at night to check on the land armed with a gun.
“In the blink of an eye they destroyed a lot of people,” said the worker, who declined to give his name.
Alan Creach, the pastor’s son, said in a statement to the media that his father had gotten up from bed and gone out to check on a vehicle and occupant parked in the lot of the Plant Farm.
The father had suspected that the driver of the vehicle was a prowler, he said.
