Swarm of Police Arrest Former Worker at Racetrack

A half-hour standoff between a man in a pickup with what appeared to be a real gun and a swarm of Albany and Berkeley police officers with guns drawn at Golden Gate Fields ended Saturday morning without shots fired and with the arrest of the suspect, police said.

The 31-year-old man from San Francisco, a former racetrack employee who allegedly had made threats against Golden Gate Fields, surrendered at 10:36 a.m. and was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats, exhibiting a replica firearm, resisting police and possession of drug paraphenalia, said Albany Police Sgt. Tom Dolter.

Albany police received a 911 call at 10:07 a.m. from the racetrack saying that "an employee whose employment had ended had made some criminal threats about bringning a gun and using it," Dolter said.

The suspect was located in a pickup truck in the north parking lot, Dolter said. Albany requested assistance from Berkeley police, he said.

A witness report relayed to Patch by a reader said there were a dozen police cars and two helicopters at the scene, along with officers with drawn guns.

Dolter said Albany sent three cars and that at least eight cars came from Berkeley. He said there was at least one law enforcement helicopter, likely from the California Highway Patrol or the East Bay Regional Park District.

The suspect at one point displayed what appeared to be a real firearm but that turned out to be an Airsoft-type replica, Dolter said.

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