Police Department

SPD Arrests Man After Hours Long Standoff

Julie Humphreys, Communications Manager, 509.625.5868

Monday, July 10, 2023 at 4:44 p.m.

Suspect who brandished a weapon at officers arrested after hours long standoff

Shortly before 7am this morning, 07/10/23, SPD responded to a call from security personnel at a building on the 1300 block of N. Maple regarding a person trespassing on the property. Officers arrived and attempted to take the man into custody on an outstanding warrant. He was non-compliant and drew a knife at officers within feet of them, forcing officers to draw their weapons. The suspect then held the knife to himself threatened self harm and also repeatedly stated his intention to force police to shoot him before retreating to a fenced dumpster area on the south side of the property.

Due to the suspects threats of violence and considering he was positioned near an occupied business, SPD shut down the area to traffic and advised the public to stay clear of the area. Multiple SPD resources were activated including SWAT, K-9, Drone, and Hostage Negotiators, in order to take every possible step to de-escalate the situation and bring the incident to a peaceful resolution. Hostage Negotiators worked with the suspect for hours in an effort to get him to surrender peacefully. He remained non-compliant and continued to exhibit violent and dangerous behavior.

At approx. 2:30pm, SPD deployed a taser and the suspect was taken into custody without additional force or injury. Charlston D Harper, 41, was booked into the Spokane County Jail and charged with 2^nd Degree Assault, Resisting Arrest and Obstructing an Officer, along with an outstanding DOC warrant for failure to register as a sex offender. Harper is a convicted felon.

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