On June 5, 2017, a domestic dispute in a West Spokane, Washington apartment escalated into a fatal shooting, claiming the life of 22-year-old Emmitt Palmer, a male. The incident began with an argument between Palmer and his ex-girlfriend, who was also his roommate. After she left the apartment, she contacted her brother, Tyler Clark, who also lived with them, and asked him to secure some of her belongings.
Over the phone, she heard a struggle between Palmer and her brother, followed by gunshots.
When police arrived at the apartment on South Westcliff Place, they found Palmer deceased from a gunshot wound to the head and neck. The Spokane County Medical Examiner later ruled his death a homicide. Clark, who was 24 at the time, was at the scene and was taken into custody. During interviews with investigators, he admitted to shooting Palmer, claiming that Palmer had him in a leg-lock during a physical altercation.
Clark was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. According to court documents, he told another individual who visited him in jail that the gun discharged as both he and Palmer were pulling on it. Clark claimed he had initially pointed the weapon at Palmer's shoulder during their struggle. He was held on a $500,000 bond.
In a surprising turn of events, about a month after the shooting, the second-degree murder charges against Tyler Clark were dropped. The Spokane County prosecutor's office dismissed the charges without prejudice, which means they could be refiled in the future. The reason given for the dismissal was the need for further investigation. Clark was subsequently released from jail in early July 2017. There is no publicly available information regarding any further developments in the investigation or if any charges were ever refiled in connection with Emmitt Palmer's death.
