Full Notification

Yesterday, officers recovered a handgun during a traffic stop after the driver failed to stop for a stop sign.

Thanks to a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), several officers participated in a distracted driving operation from 6 am to 11 am.  We selected the Ashby Avenue corridor for enforcement because it had been identified as one of the corridors with the greatest amount of crashes.

During the operation, an officer spotted a car failing to stop for a stop sign (near Malcom X Elementary School).  When the officer contacted the driver, officers learned the driver had a suspended license and the vehicle’s registration was expired.  Inside the vehicle, officers found a loaded handgun with a high capacity magazine.

The driver (a 28-year-old Berkeley man) was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm, having a firearm at/near a public school, and driving with a suspended license.

Over the course of the operation, a total of 29 vehicles were stopped and 17 people were issued citations for improperly using a cellphone while driving.

Case 2022-00016902