Man exposes himself, triggers school alert

Petaluma police sent out a school alert after a man opened his light-colored trench coat and exposed himself to a 52-year-old man near Meadow Elementary School on Thursday.

The suspect was standing at the intersection of Sonoma Mountain Parkway and Colombard Road when the victim, traveling by car south on Sonoma Mountain Parkway, was preparing to make a left turn on North Ely Boulevard at around 2:10 a.m. After the incident, the suspect tried to hide from the victim in some bushes on Colombard, said Officer William Baseman of the Petaluma Police Department.

Police report that the suspect was last seen running northbound through an alleyway that extends from Colombard to Carneros Circle. He was described as white, in his late 20s to early 30s, weighing 180 to 200 pounds and 6 feet to 6 feet, 2 inches tall. He had short, light brown hair and was not wearing glasses.

The incident did not occur during school hours, and the victim was an adult. The police department issued the alert because the incident occurred near a school, Baseman said.