Local man arrested after 13-hour police stalemate

Man allegedly made violent threats, indicated he had gun; police did not find weapon

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JAYCE CARRAL, Evergreen reporter

A Pullman resident was arrested for harassment after a 13-hour stalemate with the police.

According to the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office Inmate Listing website, 36-year old Brian Edwards is currently being held without bail in Whitman County Jail for making threats of violence.

Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said police officers responded to a domestic violence call around 6 p.m. on the 200 block of NW Thomas Street.

Tennant said Edwards’ ex-wife was picking up her children from Edwards’ residence when they got into an altercation in the front yard where Edwards allegedly made threats of violence and indicated he had a gun. Tennant said Edwards’ ex-wife left the residence with the children before calling 911.

Tennant said when police arrived, Edwards was alone in his residence. He said officers attempted to contact Edwards.

“He did make contact with us just enough to let us know he wasn’t going to talk to us,” Tennant said. “It was kind of a stalemate for a period of time.”

Tennant said officers put up barricades and set up a perimeter around Edwards’ residence at about 8 p.m. Yates, Lamont and Dillon streets were closed off.

Tennant said the regional SWAT team arrived around the time the perimeter was set up. He said the stalemate continued until about 11 p.m.

“We decided to change tactics a little bit and de-escalate the situation,” he said. “We switched into plain clothes officers to monitor the residence and hoped that cooler heads would prevail after the sun came up.”

Tennant said local attorneys were brought into the situation and after building trust with Edwards, assisted him in contacting negotiators.

Tennant said Edwards was arrested when he exited his residence around 9 a.m. this morning.

He said police officers executed a search warrant of Edwards’ residence after the arrest and were unable to find a weapon.