Man Chokes City Worker, Steals City-Owned Car: Police

BERKELEY, CA — A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, robbery and carjacking for allegedly choking an on-duty Berkeley city mental health employee and taking her car at a grocery store parking lot on Sunday night, police said.

The city Mental Health Division employee, who works with the Berkeley Police Department, had responded to a call in the area and was sitting in her car in the parking lot at the Whole Foods store at 1025 Gilman St. around 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

The suspect, later identified as Eric Bruylant of Berkeley, tried to open her door and then forced his way into her car, according to Berkeley police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Frankel. Bruylant choked the woman repeatedly and she later told investigators that she felt like she was starting to lose consciousness, Frankel said.

But the employee eventually was able to free herself from Bruylant's grasp and get out of the car. Bruylant drove off in the woman's city-owned car but then crashed it in the store's parking lot, Frankel said.

Bruylant fled on foot but officers who responded to the incident arrested him nearby in the 1200 block of 10th Street, according to Frankel. Bruylant is being held without bail at the Berkeley City Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland on Wednesday.

The mental health employee suffered injuries consistent with being choked and was released after being treated for her injuries, Frankel said.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock