SWAT standoff ends with peaceful arrest

Police arrested a man on suspicion of violating a court order tonight after he hid inside a north Spokane home’s attic when authorities asked him to come out, Spokane police officers said. The situation brought the SWAT team to the scene near Monroe Street and Wellesley Avenue around 6 p.m. while they negotiated with Joseph P. George, 22. A court order prohibited him to be at the home, police said. He assaulted a woman there and she sustained minor injuries, officers said. The situation lasted for about an hour while the SWAT team negotiated with George to come out. The team also threw a pepper spray device into the attic and George eventually complied, officers said. He came out of the home without incident. Police arrested George on charges of residential burglary and a misdemeanor assault.