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Construction site burglary, standoff last night on 2nd Avenue

Officers arrested a man early this morning after he had broken into a building under construction and began causing a disturbance inside.  He then threatened to jump from the roof.  After several hours of negotiating, he gave up and was taken into custody.

Officers initially responded to a possible shots fired call in the 1900 Block of 1st Avenue last night at 10:20 pm.  When officers arrived, it was determined that there had not been a shot fired, but there did appear to be a burglary and a disturbance coming from a building in the 1900 Block of 2nd Avenue.  The individual inside the building was yelling, banging things around and throwing items from the roof.

Officers entered the building site and contacted a 40-year-old man on the 8th floor of the building.  He was brandishing a two and a half foot long piece of rebar which had a large metal clamp attached to one end.  The man refused commands by the officers to drop his weapon.  Officers deployed a Taser, but it was not effective on the man.  The man turned and ran to the safety railing, climbed over, and stood on the ledge, 8 floors above the ground.  The man refused to come back over and a standoff ensued.

Police negotiators responded to the scene and attempted to establish a rapport with the man.  After several hours of talking, the man finally gave in and surrendered.  He was taken into custody without further incident.  He was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Burglary.