Ritzville Man Found Guilty Of Attempting To Stab Police Officer

A Ritzville man has been found guilty of attempting to stab an Adams County police officer last fall.

The Ritzville Police Department says 45-year-old Brian J. Sumner was convicted of charges including second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, and the unlawful display of a weapon at the conclusion of a jury trial in Adams County Superior Court on Sept. 17.

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The conviction stems from an incident on Oct. 5, 2024 when police were called to reports of a domestic disturbance at 2nd Avenue and Lewis Street in Ritzville where Sumner brandished a knife and threatened responding officers who were attempting to reach a woman he'd assaulted at the location.

When officers were finally able to make contact with the woman, Sumner attempted to strike and stab at least one of them while still wielding the knife.

He was quickly disarmed by an uninvolved bystander at the location before recklessly fleeing the scene at high speed in a pickup truck, preventing police from safely pursuing him.

Sumner was later located and jailed for the crimes he was convicted of last week.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 6.