Two SCOPE volunteers have been fired for their involvement in a burglary over the weekend where a man living in a home was assaulted.

The incident started around 11 p.m. Saturday.�Court documents state 22-year-old Eric Ortiz showed up at the home on the 1000 block of�E. 29th Avenue and identified himself as a sheriff's deputy and part of the gang task force. Ortiz�broke into the detached�garage and started hitting the victim inside over a personal dispute.

Witnesses also said a woman�with Ortiz�was wearing an official looking uniform too,�but neither she nor Ortiz are�deputies.

People at the home�say the woman and another man who accompanied Ortiz were both SCOPE�volunteers, and�even drove up in an official�SCOPE car,�but just stood by as the crime happened.

"SCOPE has�been around nearly 20 years now. We have had very few instances similar to this," SCOPE Director Rick Scott said.

Scott said Saturday night's incident is disappointing, and both of the volunteers were fired Tuesday morning.

The Spokane County Sheriff?s Office has identified the two deputies that responded to the disorderly person call at Oz Fitness last Thursday evening that resulted in a man being tased.

The deputies are Shawn Audie and Steve Paynter. Audie, a field training officer and defense tactics instructor, has been employed with the sheriff?s office for 12 years and has received 12 letters of commendation.

Deputy Paynter, who has also served as a field training officer, has been employed with the sheriff?s office for 13 years and has received 11 letters of commendation.

Deputies were called to Oz Fitness on the South Hill just after 7 p.m. last Thursday when reports indicated a man was behaving erratically. Witnesses say the man, later identified as Will Berger, was throwing equipment around, mumbling under his breath and using racial slurs.

Deputies were forced to tase Berger, who lost consciousness. He was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced brain dead. Berger died on Friday after his family took him off life support.

Just click on this Purina Cat Chow link to raise money for the dozens of cats who call Spokanimal "home."  Purina will donate $1 to Spokanimal for every online vote in support of Washington animal shelters, up to $2,000.

Voting ends on June 14th, so share the link with a friend to help improve the lives of the many kittens and cats looking for a permanent home.  Better yet, stop by Spokanimal and pick up a new friend!