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Spokane Police Arrest Man After Downtown Standoff

Spokane Police

Spokane Police say a man who barricaded himself for a few hours in a downtown gas station was arrested late last night [Monday].

The standoff came after a traffic stop earlier in the evening. The man, identified as 49-year-old Phillip Booher, was one of three occupants in the car. The other two fled; Booher, who was armed, took control of the car and led officers on a short chase. He stopped and began to flee toward the gas station at the northeast corner of Second and Walnut. The people inside got out. Booher barricaded himself inside.

As the standoff continued, Booher lit some items inside the gas station on fire. Officers shot a canister of some sort of chemical into the building to get him to come out. Firefighters tried to fight the fire as the flames spread and yet Booher refused to leave until a SWAT unit eventually moved in and arrested him.

Booher was taken to a hospital and treated, then was booked on several felony charges.