Alameda police are trying to figure out how a man dressed as an officer got inside the police department office building early Thursday morning.
At about 2 a.m., two patrol sergeants confronted a man dressed as an officer who was inside the building yelling and causing a ruckus, according to police officials. The man, 41-year-old Alexander Charman, allegedly refused to comply with the sergeants' commands and was taken into custody after a brief struggle, police said.
Police believe Charman is the same man who, at about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, walked up the steps of the Police Administration Building and tried to get in through the front doors, which were locked.
Dispatchers talked to him though the intercom system and during that conversation he was allegedly "highly agitated" and made threats while demanding entry to the building, police said.
Officers went outside but he was gone by the time they got to the doors. Then, at about 10:30 p.m., officers were called to the 2500 block of Blanding Avenue after someone reported a man dressed as an officer was trying to "commit a theft," police said. Again, officers weren't able to find the man, whom police believe was Charman.
Police didn't say why they think Charman wanted to get inside their office building but did report that no firearms were taken. They'd also like to talk to anyone who had contact with Charman between 8 p.m. Wednesday and 2 a.m. Thursday. He is described as white, 6-feet, 7-inches tall with a beard and long hair. He was wearing a yellow reflective vest, a hoodie, black pants and black boots. Charman is a transient from Colorado, where he's wanted on a felony warrant and to where he'll eventually be extradited, police said.
"Maintaining the Police Administration Building security and making sure our community is safe is our focus as this investigation moves forward," police officials said in a news release Thursday. "We are taking a critical look at our security protocols."
