Man with BB gun, body armor and pepper spray arrested at Petaluma park

Police arrested a 53-year-old transient man Tuesday after a 911 caller reported seeing a gun-wielding man “acting aggressively” in a Petaluma park, officials said.

Michael Taylor was seated in a vehicle and “reaching around inside” when police got to Steamer Landing Park shortly after 2 p.m., according to Sgt. Lance Novello. Taylor complied when officers ordered him to get out of the vehicle, and he yelled to police that he had a BB gun, the sergeant said in a news statement.

Taylor “made several statements suggesting his desire for a ‘suicide by cop’ scenario,” according to Novello. Officers reported finding a replica semi-automatic air pistol, body armor and pepper spray in the vehicle.

Officers were taking Taylor to a mental health evaluation when they received notice Santa Rosa police were searching for him because he was possibly connected to “a violent incident earlier in the day,” Novello said. Santa Rosa police officials Tuesday night didn’t have information about the case.

Taylor was booked into the Sonoma County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence, jail records show.