Parking complaint, standoff ends with Snohomish man’s arrest

Published 1:19 pm Monday, June 1, 2009

SNOHOMISH – A complaint about an illegally parked car escalated Sunday into a standoff between police and a 74-year-old man who reportedly suffers from mental illness.

The problems started around 10:45 a.m. in the 600 block of Pine Avenue, Snohomish Police Chief John Turner said.

Neighbors called to report a parking problem.

Police officers investigated and the car was moved, Turner said.

A short time later, neighbors again called police to report the man was threatening them with a baseball bat.

Officers arrived and man started making threats and pointed a gun at police, Turner said.

Officers backed off, set up a perimeter around the house, evacuated some neighbors and called in for help from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Monroe police.

They waited. Eventually the man, a retired corrections officer, began to drive off. He was arrested without incident and brought to a hospital, Turner said.

The man was later released from the hospital. Problems resumed when he returned home, Turner said. The man was booked into jail for investigation of numerous misdemeanors.

Turner said police have a long history of dealing with the man.