Homeless man stabbed amid dispute over public urination
Ali Davis, who got upset after seeing the man peeing in public in the neighborhood where he works, told police he stabbed him in self-defense.
A homeless man was stabbed Sunday in a popular Berkeley shopping district after trying to punch a local worker who rebuked him for public urination, police report.
The worker, who has since been arrested, called police to report the confrontation and said he stabbed the other man in self-defense, Berkeley police said.
The worker was identified in booking records as 32-year-old Ali Davis of Oakland.
According to police, Davis said he was on a break shortly before 4:30 p.m. when he saw the homeless man urinating on a wall near the Elmwood neighborhood's city parking lot, in the 2600 block of Russell Street west of College Avenue.
Davis told the man to knock it off, he told police, at which point the homeless man tried to punch him, upset at being reprimanded.
That's when Davis said he pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed the man several times, police said in response to a Scanner inquiry.
The wounds, to the finger, arm and torso, weren't deep but caused a lot of bleeding, authorities said.
The wounded man ran off, westbound on Russell Street, and Davis called police to report the confrontation.
Officers responded quickly to speak with Davis and search for the wounded man.
Initially, BPD tried to locate a blood trail from the Elmwood parking lot, but that didn't pan out, according to radio traffic reviewed by The Scanner.
Several officers then set off on foot to see if they could find him.
About 15 minutes later, an officer saw a man walking south on Hillegass Avenue near Derby Street with what appeared to be fresh blood on his arm, an officer reported over the radio.
Officers were able to contact the man and determine he was the person who had been stabbed.
They applied a tourniquet while the Berkeley Fire Department was responding.
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BFD took the man to Highland Hospital "Code 3," with lights and sirens.
As of Sunday night, he was reportedly stable and expected to survive, authorities said.
Davis is being held at Berkeley Jail on $30,000 bail and is set for arraignment Wednesday, according to booking records.
He has no prior criminal cases in Alameda County, court records show.
Berkeley stabbing reports appear to be up
Serious stabbings have typically been rare in Berkeley. That may be changing.
In January, a man was charged with murder after stabbing a man and woman while confronting them in West Berkeley about stealing his van in connection with a package theft operation, authorities have said.
During the confrontation, the woman — who later died — also stabbed the van owner, police said previously.
On April 9, two teens fled on scooters after stabbing a teenage boy as he walked home from the gym in southwest Berkeley.
About two weeks later, a stabbing near UC Berkeley left a young man in critical condition. The April 22 incident was witnessed by 60-100 horrified onlookers, including many Cal students.
Last week, a homeless man was stabbed in downtown Berkeley on Center Street outside the shelter where he was staying, authorities said.
Days later, the Citizen app sent out a spurious alert to thousands of people about a double stabbing at Ashby BART — which actually had not happened. (Authorities said there was a similar report around the same time near Fruitvale BART station in Oakland.)
Then, on Saturday night, a young man was stabbed in a UC Berkeley parking lot while enjoying the view with his girlfriend, authorities report.
Emilie Raguso
Stay tuned to The Scanner for ongoing coverage and the most comprehensive, authoritative reporting on Berkeley crime and safety.
