Piedmont officers arrested a man Friday on suspicion of crimes including assault, battery and carjacking after an apparently random attack on an elderly man and a struggle with the department’s police chief.
Piedmont officers arrested a man Friday on suspicion of crimes including assault, battery and carjacking after an apparently random attack on an elderly man and a struggle with the department’s police chief.
The initial attack happened before 4:23 p.m. at a hardware store on 1221 Grand Avenue, according to police in a post on social media. Witnesses told officers that a man had struck an elderly person from behind, knocking him to the ground unconscious.
The man then ran from the store. Officers later located him, describing the man as uncooperative. Police said the man then “initiated a physical confrontation,” at which point officers used pepper spray and a taser on him.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
The man then ran off, briefly forcing his way into a home and threatening a resident. After leaving the home, the Piedmont police chief confronted the man.
At that point, the man jumped into the chief’s car and tried to drive off. The chief then entered and got into a struggle with the man. The chief — along with other units and a security guard — were able to get the man out of the car and take him into custody.
The unconscious elderly man was taken to his hospital, police said. His condition is not currently known. One officer was also injured.
The man — identified by police as 42-year-old Willie Gomer — was arrested on suspicion of assault with great bodily injury, causing injury to elder adult, battery with serious bodily injury, battery of a police officer, obstructing a police officer, robbery, burglary, possession of a controlled substance and parole violation.
