Suspected U-Haul Driver Tried to Flee Hospital After Coast Guard Shooting, Police Report Says

New details have emerged surrounding the East Bay woman charged with backing a U-Haul truck toward federal officials at Alameda’s Coast Guard Island last month amid protests over escalating immigration enforcement in the Bay Area.

Bella Thompson, 26, was tackled and handcuffed to a gurney after she tried to flee custody the night of Oct. 23 at an Oakland hospital where she was taken after being shot by Coast Guard personnel, according to an Alameda Police Department report obtained by KQED.

“I wrapped my arms around her torso and used a take-down to bring Thompson onto the ground,” Alameda Police Officer Frank Tom said in the report.

Thompson was detained at Highland Hospital by Alameda police who suspected she was the driver who reversed the U-Haul truck erratically toward a blockade of Coast Guard officials on the bridge to the East Bay island base. She’d been taken to the medical center for treatment of a gunshot wound after Coast Guard officers shot at the truck, striking Thompson and a bystander.

Alameda police were guarding her while awaiting the arrival of FBI agents for “further questioning” when she asked to use the bathroom, according to the report.

Tom wrote that he removed Thompson’s handcuffs and allowed her to walk to the restroom across the hall. As he stood outside, propping the door open, she suddenly rushed out of the bathroom and tried to run away, he said.

Tom recounted tackling Thompson while an Alameda County sheriff’s deputy put pressure on her back and tried to handcuff her. He said he placed two sets of handcuffs on her, put her on a gurney and secured both of her hands to its sides.

She was put under arrest for resisting a peace officer.

Thompson has since been charged in U.S. District Court with assaulting federal officers with a dangerous or deadly weapon.

Last month’s protests at Coast Guard Island came as the Department of Homeland Security said it planned to use the base as a “place of operation” for immigration enforcement ahead of a planned “surge” into San Francisco.

Escalated immigration enforcement — which many warned was a likely precursor to National Guard deployment — was called off in San Francisco and the wider Bay Area, but tensions still flared near the base throughout the day after Border Patrol vehicles rolled onto the island around 7 a.m.

Hundreds of protesters tried for hours to block the intersection of Embarcadero and Dennison Street in Oakland, which leads to the single bridge access onto Coast Guard Island. One officer threw what appeared to be a flash-bang grenade into the crowd, another exited their vehicle and shot pepper powder at a local faith leader trying to block the road, and a van drove over the ankle of an organizer who was trying to speak with the agents inside, according to activists.

In the early afternoon, California Highway Patrol cleared the majority of the crowd, arresting two people who refused to disperse.

According to the criminal complaint against Thompson, the U-Haul truck arrived at the intersection hours later, shortly before 10 p.m. The driver — later identified as Thompson — got out of the vehicle and joined a few dozen remaining protesters for about five minutes before returning to the truck.

After the truck lined up facing away from the bridge, video footage shows it begin to slowly reverse, course correct and accelerate backward as officers shout repeated orders to stop, according to the complaint. Officers then opened fire on the truck.

After the initial gunshots, the truck reversed more quickly for another few seconds before coming to a halt and quickly pulling forward. It appeared to pause for about 30 seconds at the intersection leading off the bridge before driving away.

After her detention at Highland Hospital, Thompson was transferred to John George Psychiatric Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

The police report said she was later placed on a 72-hour involuntary psychiatric hold by a different agency, whose identity was redacted.

She’s currently being held without bail on the federal charge and is due in court on Friday for a bail hearing.

KQED’s Julie Small and Alex Hall contributed to this report.