(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)
January 13, 2015 - 2:40 PM
VERNON - Mounties were dodging household items rather than bullets when a man barricaded himself behind a pile of broken furniture during a standoff with police Monday night.
Vernon RCMP were called to 3901-21 Avenue at 10:15 p.m. Jan. 12, 2015 because a man was allegedly destroying the downstairs basement. A woman spoke to officers outside the residence, telling them the only way out of the basement was through a back door. When members went to the stairs to assess the situation, they found the man had piled broken furniture in a small hallway and was not willing to allow police to enter basement rooms according to an RCMP media release.
"He uttered threats about lighting the house on fire, as well as threatening the police officers with a knife," RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said. "He threw several objects at the members from behind his barricade as well."
Molendyk said the suspect was seen breaking chairs and furniture and punching several holes in walls.
"Negotiations were set up in attempts to diffuse the situation as the suspect was in possession of two different knives," he said.
The suspect eventually chose to surrender the knives, throwing them through a hole he'd punched in the wall. Soon after that, at 3:05 a.m. Jan. 13, the 33-year-old was taken into custody.
"Luckily nobody was hurt during this five-hour ordeal," Molendyk said.
The suspect was taken to hospital for treatment. Police requested an assessment of his mental health.
Charges of uttering threats, two counts of having a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief over $5,000 were recommended by RCMP.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015