Police Department

Man Safely Taken Into Custody after Standoff

Ofc. Teresa Fuller

Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at 1:59 p.m.

Spokane Police took a man into custody after a standoff that lasted several hours yesterday. The call started as an assault call where a male had reportedly punched a neighbor and armed himself with an axe. Once officers arrived, the suspect started throwing things off the balcony of his residence, hitting vehicles on the street, and then barricaded himself in his home. After several hours in the home refusing to come out, SWAT officers used chemical munitions and were able to safely take Mark W Cebriak (47) into custody. He was booked into Spokane County Jail for 3rd Degree Assault on Law Enforcement, 1st Degree Malicious Mischief, 4th Degree Assault, and 3rd Degree Malicious Mischief.

Just before 1:30pm, July 17, 2016, the Spokane Police Department responded to the report of an argument in the 1700 block of west 12th. The callers reported that a male was yelling at neighbors, throwing glass out of his residence at the neighbors, yelling profanities, and hitting golf balls at them. The male, later identified as Cebriak, refused to leave his home once officers arrived. Officers developed enough information to charge Cebriak with Disorderly Conduct and Reckless Endangerment, both misdemeanor charges, so it was decided to request warrants for those charges rather than attempt to remove Cebriak from his home to book him into jail.

Yesterday, July 18, 2016, just before 11:30am, Cebriak’s behavior escalated and officers responded to an assault call where he had allegedly punched a neighbor in the face. When officers arrived on scene they attempted to talk Cebriak out of the house, to which Cebriak responded by yelling obscenities. Due to his escalating behavior, a decision was made to utilize additional resources from the Hostage Negotiation Team, SWAT, and the Explosives Disposal Unit in an effort to bring this situation to a peaceful resolution. Officers were also concerned his worsening behavior may be a result of possible mental health issues, so as is standard protocol when those concerns arise, Mental Health Professionals from Frontier Behavioral Health we called to help assess the situation. After over five hours of attempting to get Cebriak to come out of the home, he was taken into custody subsequent to chemical munitions being inserted into the home. Even after that occurred, Cebriak continued to fight with officers, punching and kicking them, as he was being taken into custody. As a precaution, due to his agitated state and exposure to the chemical munitions, he was taken to an area hospital for medical clearance prior to being booked into jail.

The Spokane Police Department would like to take a moment to thank the neighborhood affected by this incident. The successful outcome of this incident was due in large part to their cooperation and assistance. We’d also like to thank Frontier Behavior Health for the continued dedication and collaboration on scenes such as these.

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