Red Cross responded to an east Vancouver apartment building Wednesday night following a three-hour police standoff that affected nearby residents.
Police deployed gas at an apartment in the 300 block of Southeast 166th Avenue. A 45-year-old man threatened an acquaintance with a firearm and then refused to come outside when officers responded.
John C. Picanco was arrested on suspicion of felony harassment and first-degree assault and burglary.
The Red Cross Cascades Region said in a news release that disaster responders went to the address around 6:30 p.m.
Red Cross said the single-family disaster affected two adults and two children.
Vancouver Police Department spokeswoman Kim Kapp said in an email that the help from the nonprofit was related to the standoff.
“We used chemical agents during (Wednesday’s) incident and there were some neighboring units that were likely impacted,” Kapp said.
The level of damage caused by deployed gas depends on numerous variables, such as the size of a home and its condition, as well as its contents, Lt. Kathy McNicholas said.
Officers provide residents in the vicinity of a gas deployment with notices that list options for professional cleaning, McNicholas said. How the residue is cleaned is up to the owner or tenant, she said.
The lieutenant said she believes the police department has not had to reimburse anyone for damage due to chemical agents, as laws protect it and the city from liability.
“The bad guys dictate how we respond, what we do,” she said.
