Drug Agent in McDonald’s With Gun Drawn Sparks Probe

Citizen complaints about a plainclothes narcotics officer entering a McDonald’s restaurant in Sorrento Valley with his gun drawn in pursuit of drug suspects has sparked an investigation by the San Diego Police Department, a spokesman said Saturday.

The incident occurred about noon Friday when the lunchtime customers were taken aback by the sight of a Narcotics Task Force agent running into the restaurant--without, according to some witnesses, explaining who he was or identifying himself.

In July, 1984, gunman James Huberty entered a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro and shot and killed 21 people.

The countywide task force is composed of officers from various law enforcement agencies, and it was unclear Saturday whose agent ran into the McDonald’s.

But San Diego Police spokesman Bill Robinson, noting that his department contributes manpower to the task force, said department officials were looking into the incident because of the citizen complaints.

The agents had just purchased two kilos of cocaine in an undercover operation, but when they identified themselves, the six suspects--two women and four men--fled in different directions.

One agent believed both women ran into McDonald’s and chased them inside, Robinson said.

They were later found and arrested just outside the restaurant.

The cocaine had an estimated street value of $100,000, Robinson said. The bust also yielded $1,000 in cash.

The six suspects were booked into the County Jail downtown on drug-related charges.