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Officer fires at suspect near school
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Police cordoned off a section of Neal Park in east Ceres looking for bullets fired by a Ceres police officer on Thursday morning. The officer missed a suspect who was on drugs and threatening officers. - photo by Contributed to the Courier
Jeff Benziger
Updated: April 17, 2014, 7:34 a.m.

A Ceres police officer took several shots at a man who was acting strangely in Marie Neal Park this morning but the suspect was not struck.

Sgt. Jose Berber of the Ceres Police Department said that the suspect was arrested and the officer was placed on administrative leave which is police protocol.

Police arrested Talwinder Bains, 29, of Ceres, and charged him with possession of methamphetamine, being under influence of a narcotic, resisting arrest and violation of probation.Two officers - their identities were not released - showed up at the park at 9:15 a.m. after someone called 911 to report Bains acting oddly by yelling and swinging a golf club. The park is located at 1982 Booth Road next to Sam Vaughn Elementary School. The officers approached the man to talk to him several hundred feet west of the school, which was placed in a short lockdown.

"I'm unsure what happened but several shots were fired," said Sgt. Berber.

Only one officer discharged his weapon, said Berber.