SWAT situation at DSHS building ends in arrest

Описание: SPOKANE, Wash. — An hours-long standoff at the Department of Social and Health Services building ended with the arrest of a man.

Heavy law enforcement, including SWAT, was near Maple and Ash for a standoff with an armed suspect.

The Spokane Police Department said a man was trespassing the DSHS building just before 7 a.m. on Monday. They also say he took a knife out and is barricaded outside the building on the south side.

Police say the suspect, Charlston D. Harper, drew a knife at officers. SPD says the man threatened self-harm, repeatedly telling officers to force police to shoot him before he retreated to a fenced dumpster area.

People inside the DSHS building were evacuated from the south side of the building out of an abundance of caution. Several roads in the area were blocked off, and people were asked to stay away from the area. The roads are now open in the area.

SPD says no one was injured in this process, but the man was considered "armed and dangerous," and has made threats against people with the knife.

Police say the man has a warrant for his arrest.

A drone was in the air and SWAT teams had their guns drawn. A mobile command post that also arrived.

Police also said they were negotiating with the man but he was not being cooperative. There were several mental health professionals working with investigators.

SPD says there was a heavy law enforcement presence because they say the man was a danger to the public and they weren't sure if he was carrying other weapons than a knife. There was also a lot of yelling between the barricaded suspect and police.

SPD says they deployed a taser on Harper, and he was taken into custody. He was charged with second-degree assault, resisting arrest and obstructing an officer, along with an outstanding warrant for failure to register as a sex offender. SPD says Harper is a convicted felon.

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