Inside Bay Area
OAKLAND, Calif. — An Oakland police officer shot an auto theft suspect in the buttocks Tuesday afternoon after he appeared to be pointing a gun at him and another officer, investigators said.
But what the officer thought was a gun turned out to be a shiny cell phone, police said.
The suspect, 22-year-old Darrell Loud of Emeryville, was in stable condition Wednesday at a local hospital. Police said he was on probation for a marijuana conviction.
Another man, 18-year-old Clem Thompkins of Oakland, was also arrested in the theft.
The shooting happened about 5:30 p.m. in the area of fifth and Union streets near the spot where the two men were suspected of abondoning a 2007 Dodge Charger, stolen April 24 from an Oakland rental agency.
Officers had earlier spotted the car parked near 13th and Campbell streets. They waited for the people in possession of the car to return but the suspects got into the car and drove off before police could stop them.
Officers pursued the car before the suspects abandoned it in the 200 block of Magnolia Street and took off running.
The officer who did the shooting — whose name was not released — and his partner, chased them on foot while ordering them to stop.
When Loud turned toward the officers holding what appeared to be a gun, he was shot by one of the officers from about 20 feet away, Sgt. Rick Andreotti said.
Thompkins kept running and was arrested a few blocks away by other officers.
The officer who shot Loud and his partner gave Loud first aid until paramedics arrived and took him to the hospital.
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