Officer acted erratically before shooting

An off-duty Richmond police officer who allegedly unleashed a barrage of shots inside the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco over the weekend was identified as 45-year-old Phillip Sanchez, said Officer Grace Gatpandan of the San Francisco Police Department.

Sanchez was booked on suspicion of four felony counts of vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into an inhabited dwelling and willfully discharging a firearm with gross negligence, Gatpandan said.

Sanchez was described as acting “erratically” and talking about spirits before opening fire, according to police dispatch recordings of the episode.

A guest at the Market Street hotel reported Sanchez to San Francisco police just before 5 a.m. Sunday and identified him a Richmond police officer, according to the recordings.

Dispatchers told responding officers that Sanchez was “walking erratically around the hotel” and talking about spirits while trying to get security officers to enter a room and saying that security “knows what it is in there.”

A few minutes later, six to seven gunshots were reported on the 17th floor of the hotel. A bullet hole was also found on the 12th floor, according to the recordings.

Guests were directed to shelter in place while police negotiated with the officer, said Officer Robert Rueca of the SFPD.

A handgun and shell casings were recovered at the scene, Rueca said, and Sanchez “surrendered peacefully” at 6:30 a.m. No injuries were reported.

A spokeswoman for the Four Seasons confirmed that the officer was a guest at the hotel.

Lt. Felix Tan of the Richas mond Police Department said that Sanchez has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

Charges have yet to be filed against Sanchez. The San Francisco district attorney’s office said the case had not been referred to it by police as of Monday.