Update, 3:33 p.m. Berkeley police are calling off the search for a suspected auto burglar authorities say tried to run down a Richmond police officer with his car early Tuesday morning in that city. Police said in a Nixle alert sent at 3:31 p.m. that the man managed to evade authorities. Officers from the Richmond Police Department remain in the area, at Channing Way and Fourth Street, where the man abandoned his car, BPD said, but BPD officers are clearing the scene.
Original story, 1:38 p.m. The Berkeley Police Department is looking for an alleged auto burglar who may be linked to an officer-involved shooting in Richmond on Tuesday morning, authorities report.
Authorities describe the man as black, in his 20s or 30s, and wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt. Police are searching Aquatic Park now, and are asking community members to report any suspicious behavior or people who match the description.
Police said the BPD dispatch center got a call just before 12:20 p.m. “about a suspicious vehicle that was possibly involved in an Officer involved Shooting in Richmond.”
Officers who responded found the vehicle abandoned near Channing Way and Fourth Street.
“The driver of that vehicle was seen running northwest towards Aquatic Park on Channing Way,” police said.
Callers can reach BPD at 510-981-5900.
At about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, readers started asking Berkeleyside about significant police activity in West Berkeley.
Wrote one, on Twitter, “Every cop car in Berkeley is screaming west down Dwight.” Another said Berkeley police officers seemed to be “locking down” Aquatic Park, though the reason why was unknown.
According to Bay City News, a Richmond Police officer fired multiple rounds at an auto burglary suspect Tuesday morning “who tried to run down an officer with a car.”
RPD spokesman Lt. Felix Tan said the agency responded at about 1:10 a.m. to a call about someone who was breaking into a truck on Sutter Avenue.
According to Bay City News, “When the first officer arrived at the scene, the suspect took off running and the officer gave chase but lost sight of him on Carlson Boulevard, Tan said. A second officer arrived a short time later and began looking for the suspect on foot.”
Tan said the auto burglary suspect then tried to run over one of the officers. The second officer shot at the vehicle to try to stop it from leaving the scene.
RPD said the vehicle is an early 2000s-model silver four-door Mercedes-Benz sedan.
