End of Watch: 08/29/2003
Agency: Spokane County Sheriff’s Office
County: Spokane County
Deputy James Slater was killed in an automobile accident while en route to back up a fellow officer who was following a stolen vehicle. A citizen called 911 and reported a patrol vehicle in the ditch and the deputy un-conscious. It is believed that Slater started sliding on a corner and over corrected, causing him to hit a utility pole that flipped the patrol car four times. Deputy Slater was flown to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Deputy Slater was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and had been employed with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office for 2.5 years.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.