 Seattle police secure the area around an apartment building at the 300 block of Maynard Avenue South on March 31 while trying to take an assault suspect into custody. |
By James Tabafunda
Northwest Asian Weekly
A man has surrendered to members of the Seattle Police SWAT team after a nine-hour standoff.
The white, middle-aged suspect walked out of an International District apartment building and was taken into custody on March 31.
Seattle police officers received a call in the morning about a man making threats. They arrived at the International Apartments building at 315 Maynard Avenue South at about 8:08 a.m.
The officers found a hammer lodged in the slightly open door of the suspect’s apartment. The suspect yelled at officers and pulled the hammer out. The officers then ordered the suspect to put the hammer down. The suspct didn’t comply and re-entered his apartment, closing the door behind him.
Officers called for additional units to report to the scene. They said they heard the suspect breaking things in his apartment. At that time, they believed the suspect would be a threat if he were not taken into custody. As a result, they also contacted the SWAT team.
The SWAT team arrived with hostage negotiators.
“Police had the building sealed off. Not wanting to enter by force, they wanted to coax him into come out,” said Mac Crary, a neighbor of the suspect.
The SWAT team sent a “chemical irritant” into the suspect’s apartment, which caused him to surrender.
“Nobody thought he was really dangerous — just a nuisance. And I felt he was bewitched sometimes,” Crary said.
“He played his stereo at night, dressed up strangely, aimed red lasers into the room, and frightened others,” he noted.
When Crary opened his front door, he said an avalanche of golf clubs and a wooden stake toppled into his room.
“Many other items were also piled at the doors of my neighbors, like shoes and rugs,” he added.
The suspect is at the King County Jail on charges of harassment and assault. ♦