Posted inCommunity, Crime, Crime & Safety

25 years later: Henry’s hostage crisis remembered

Henry’s hostage crisis: Berkeley Special Response Team officers move in. Photo: David Yee Henry’s hostage crisis: Berkeley Special Response Team officers move in. Photo: David Yee The shots rang out just after midnight, leaving seven people injured and dozens held hostage in Henry’s Publick House at the Hotel Durant in Berkeley’s Southside neighborhood. One of […]

Posted inCommunity, Crime & Safety

Update: Man comes down from sculpture after 5.5 hours

A man climbed onto a Berkeley bear sculpture Saturday and refused to come down. Photo: William Newton A man climbed onto a Berkeley bear sculpture Saturday and refused to come down. Photo: William Newton Note: An update about this incident appears toward the bottom of this article. A military veteran reportedly having a mental health crisis climbed on top of the […]

Posted inCity, Community, Crime & Safety

Mental health calls #1 drain on Berkeley police resources

Thirty-five percent of calls to the Berkeley Police Department are for people who are having a mental health crisis. Here, police officers restrained a man who was later taken for a mental health evaluation as two mental health workers (left), try to calm him down. Photo: Emilie Raguso Responding to people with mental health issues […]

Posted inCrime, Crime & Safety

Berkeley police defuse disturbance on Woolsey

The approximate location (accurate only to the block level) of Friday’s call on Woolsey. Image: Google maps The approximate location (accurate only to the block level) of Friday’s call on Woolsey. Image: Google maps Police have detained one man after he reportedly challenged officers to a confrontation in South Berkeley on Friday morning. Berkeley Police […]

Posted inCrime, Crime & Safety

Update: Berkeley standoff over; man surrenders

Emergency personnel responded in significant numbers to an incident at a storage facility (upper left in the photograph) on Sixth and Virginia streets in West Berkeley today. Photo: Emilie Raguso Update, Aug. 11, 4 p.m. Berkeleyside has received some additional information from the Berkeley Police Department about how this call came in. Police said initial reports […]

Posted inCrime, Crime & Safety

Taser report: Tool could save Berkeley millions, decrease use of force, but oversight and training would be key

With the Berkeley City Council about to request a report on Tasers, a 2011 study on the subject has surfaced. Photo: Creative Commons With the Berkeley City Council about to request a report on Tasers, a 2011 study on the subject has surfaced. Photo: Creative Commons Berkeley officials plan to consider in early May whether to take their first deep […]