PALO ALTO – A 32-year-old Campbell man was arrested last week after he allegedly smashed vehicle windows at the Stanford Shopping Center and threatened to shoot police officers, authorities said.
Officers were called at about 1:45 p.m. Friday to the shopping center at 180 El Camino Real for a report of a man who was causing a disturbance, the Palo Alto Police Department said in a news release Monday. Mall security personnel told police the man was yelling at patrons, threatening passersby and spitting on store windows.
When officers arrived, the man was uncooperative but said he was waiting for a ride-share, police said. Security personnel told officers if the man did not leave the property, they wanted him placed under private persons arrest for disrupting and interfering with the business.
Police said the man then ran into a parking lot. Officers followed him from a distance, thinking he was going to meet his ride-share. But as they watched him, he used a metal water bottle to smash the rear windows of two parked vehicles, police said,
Officers then chased the man to the Stanford Park Hotel at 100 El Camino Real in Menlo Park, where he put his hand in his jacket pocket, said he had a gun and threatened to shoot the officers, police said. He then climbed up on a second-floor balcony.
Police said the officers took cover and tried to de-escalate the situation by speaking with him. When that didn’t work, they fired pepper ball rounds at the wall next to him and ultimately shot him in the hip with a less-lethal projectile weapon. He then surrendered.
The man did not have any weapons on him, police said. He was taken to an area hospital for an evaluation, which is standard procedure when someone is exposed to chemical agents or struck with a less-lethal projectile. The man suffered a visible injury to his hip, police said.
The man was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose on charges of felony vandalism, misdemeanor obstructing a business establishment and misdemeanor resisting arrest.
Anyone with information related to the case can contact the police department at 650-329-2413. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call or text 650-383-8984 or email paloalto@tipnow.org.
Source: www.mercurynews.com