Berkeley Standoff Ends With Armed Suspect’s Arrest

BERKELEY, CA — A Berkeley standoff Thursday afternoon ended with the arrest of an armed suspect, police said.

The suspect, identified as a 52-year-old Berkeley man, was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication and several weapons violations according to the Berkeley Police Department.

Several firearms and an ammunitions cache were recovered from the suspect’s vehicle according to police.

The suspect’s arrest ended a standoff in the 1400 block of Prince Street that lasted several hours, police said.

No injuries were reported.

Officers responded at around 1:45 p.m. to the 1400 block of Prince Street on reports of an armed man passed-out inside a vehicle who was possibly intoxicated, police said.

When officers arrived on the scene a witness told them they saw two firearms in the vehicle within the man’s reach according to police.

Officers formed a safety perimeter around the vehicle and maintained their distance and placed “stop sticks” near the vehicle’s tires so the man couldn’t attempt to drive away, police said.

Officers brought an armored vehicle to the scene to use as cover while trained negotiators tried to contact the man with a loudspeaker, but the man didn’t awake despite repeated calls in English and Spanish.

Officers then requested authorization for the use of an apprehension K-9, aerial support and an additional armored vehicle—all with the goal of increasing our ability to contact the man from a safe distance and avoid a confrontation, police said.

The man in the vehicle eventually responded and began to communicate with our negotiators and at 4:30 p.m. he stepped out of the vehicle and was safely taken into custody.

Inside the vehicle, officers found a handgun, a rifle, a collapsible baton, several hundred rounds of ammunition and four replica firearms.