RPD: Armed Man Arrested After Standoff On Railroad Trestle

Trains came to a halt Wednesday afternoon for an armed standoff on the railroad trestle that spans the Sacramento River, Caldwell Park and a residential neighborhood. Reports of a trespasser walking north on the tracks shortly before 5 O’clock prompted Redding Police to notify Union Pacific Railroad to stop the trains. When officers tried to communicate with the man he yelled that he wanted to fight them, then pulled a 357 revolver from his backpack and placed it in a hip holster. He then walked back southward toward the officers. He would not yield and kept coming while yelling curses at the police. A shotgun-fired beanbag was used on him and he turned and he turned and ran north again. When he got to the other end near Benton Drive, the Crisis Intervention Response Team was waiting for him but he wouldn’t listen to them. He ran to the south again and stopped in the middle, where he dumped his revolver and extra ammo before continuing to the south end again and surrendering. Identified as 39-year-old Erik Steinbeiss, he was booked into jail, where he remains Thursday morning without bail.