A domestic violence suspect arrested after a standoff in north Spokane on Saturday made statements about “shooting it out with police” and “suicide by cop,” police said today.

James Michael Vandyke, 41, is to appear in Spokane County Superior Court this afternoon on a second-degree assault charge after police used pepper spray to force him from a home in the 5500 block of North Greenwood Boulevard on Saturday.

Officers arrived to find Vandyke forcibly holding his wife while clutching a gun. He refused to drop the gun and went inside before allowing his wife and others to leave. The standoff last several hours.

After Vandyke exited because of the pepper spray, police found two loaded .40 caliber handguns and a loaded assault rifle on the living room floor.

In a news release issued today, Officer Teresa Fuller said police “have responded to several of these types of incidents in the last couple of months.”

“They are highly unpredictable and, as we’ve seen in jurisdictions around the country recently, can end in citizens and/or officers seriously injured or worse,” Fuller wrote. “Officers of the Spokane Police Department rely on expert training and state of the arts tools they have to try and resolve the incidents as peacefully as possible.”

Not all law enforcement officials carry pepper spray. Spokane County sheriff's officials say it comes down to personal preference.

A would-be thief pepper sprayed a car dealership employee who tried to stop him from stealing a pickup last week, police say.

Brandon K. Hutchinson, 26, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to six felony charges related to his arrest last Thursday at Avista Stadium. He's accused of assaulting an employee at Affordable Auto, 4229 E. Sprague Ave., with the spray after the employee arrived to work and saw him inside a 1999 Chevrolet Kingswood pickup, according to court documents.

Spokane police tracked Hutchinson to the stadium and found meth, shaved keys and pliers on him after his arrest. Officers also found screwdrivers in the pickup, which also had a damaged ignition.

Hutchinson was jailed on a $250,000 warrant for first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, attempted car theft, possession of a controlled substance, second-degree malicious mischief and making or possessing a motor vehicle theft tool.

Hutchinson already was wanted for missing a pre-trial conference regarding a car theft charge from last April.

A 31-year-old Medical Lake man is accused of assaulting a family with pepper spray in a dispute over a tricycle.

Andrew Nelson Evans was arrested after sheriff’s deputies found a couple and their 3-year-old daughter with orange stains on their faces and arms from the spray about 5 p.m. Wednesday in the 500 block of North Brower.

The girl’s skin and her mother’s skin appeared to be blistering, and sheriff’s deputies said all three reported “severe pain.” One deputy said the girl was crying and said she “hurt real bad.”

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