Attempt at Vehicle Code Stop in Albany Turns Deadly When Suspect Flees, Confronts Berkeley Police with Gun, Officials Say

Three Berkeley police officers were involved in a shooting Monday night that left Choung Van Nguyen dead following a hit-and-run crash in Albany during a short police chase.

The officers shot the suspect after Nguyen, 25, of Berkeley drew a semi-automatic pistol and fired at least two shots at them on Eighth Street just south of Camelia Street in northwest Berkeley, said Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, Berkeley police spokeswoman.

Shortly before 11 p.m., an Albany police unit tried to stop a Honda sedan in the 500 block of San Pablo Avenue for a vehicle code violation, said Albany Police Chief Mike McQuiston. McQuiston described the reason for the stop as a "minor mechanical violation."

Rather than stopping, police said Nguyen fled south on San Pablo through Albany and into north Berkeley, and ultimately was pursued by two police cruisers. As he drove, McQuiston said, he struck an above-ground water valve and a telephone pole. Police lost sight of the vehicle and ended the chase, which reached speeds up to 60 mph, on Cedar Street west of San Pablo.

At 10:45 p.m., Albany police dispatchers called Berkeley police dispatchers to request "Code 3 cover," or emergency assistance, Kusmiss said.

Albany officers followed the suspect to Eighth and Jones streets, where he stopped the car and got out to run away. Kusmiss said it's possible there was a second person in the car, but that police have not confirmed this information.

She said it's "not uncommon" for both police agencies to request assistance from each other when crimes or issues happen in areas near city borders.

Eight officers responded to the area and began to set up a perimeter to search for the driver, when a sergeant on the scene spotted him heading north on the sidewalk on the east side of Eighth.

"Within seconds, three other officers arrived on Eighth just south of Camelia," Kusmiss said. "They yelled at the suspect, issued verbal challenges, and saw that the suspect had a semi-automatic pistol in his hand.

"Officers said, 'Drop the gun, drop the gun,'" she said. "The male suspect did not comply. He turned and shot at least two rounds at the officers, and the three officers returned fire. And the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of gunfire."

Officers recovered a semi-automatic pistol next to Nguyen's body, Kusmiss said.

The Alameda County coroner's office will likely perform his autopsy tomorrow morning.

All three officers involved in the shooting could spend up to 15 hours at the station for questioning about the incident. They then will be placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings.

The Berkeley Police Department will perform an internal investigatation to determine whether proper procedures were followed during the shooting. A team of Alameda County District Attorney's Office investigators will do a concurrent investigation of the incident, which also is standard protocol for officer-involved shootings.

Berkeley's last such shooting happened Feb. 16, 2008, when an officer shot a woman in the 1700 block of Ward Street. Kusmiss said Anita Gay had been threatening her adult daughters with a large knife and that the officer who shot her was cleared of any wrongdoing. 

"He was protecting the lives of the family members," Kusmiss said.

Some community members expressed anger about Gay's shooting, though one of Gay's daughters said, during police questioning, that the officer saved her sister's life with his actions.

Kusmiss said independent witnesses, some of whom watched last night's shooting from their windows, approached police to provide statements about what they saw.

"Any community participation, not just with officer-involved shootings but with any kind of crime, is so valuable and we're grateful for it," she said.