A man was struck by a car and killed this morning while fleeing two San Francisco police officers, who suspected him of stealing from a Nob Hill Trader Joe’s, the police department said.
Both police officers were also struck by the car, and are in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspected thief used to work at Trader Joe’s, according to an employee who was at work that morning. Trader Joe’s confirmed that a former employee was involved in the incident.
“We are aware of the tragic accident involving a former Trader Joe’s Crew Member and members of the San Francisco Police Department that occurred this morning,” wrote Nakia Rohde, Trader Joe’s public relations manager, in a statement to Mission Local.
He “walked right in” to the store before it had opened for the day, said the employee, who asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak publicly. The front door was unlocked, they added. Staff watched as the man walked toward the wine section and grabbed a bottle.
They recognized this tall, twenty-something, white man, the employee said. He’d been their coworker for about six months.
“Get out of the store,” the employee recalled staff yelling. A handful of employees walked the former colleague out, then notified police who were already on the premises, the employee said.
The officers were responding to another incident: A car had been lit on fire in the Trader Joe’s parking lot just before 7:00 a.m., according to a witness and a police dispatch log.
Police said they responded to reports of a theft at the Trader Joe’s at 7:36 a.m. and attempted to detain the suspect. Police calls for service noted a “suspicious person” and an officer in need of help.
The suspect allegedly resisted arrest and ran into the street. Two officers followed.
A “tussle” ensued in the middle of busy California Street between the officers and the alleged thief, the employee said. Then all three were struck by a vehicle driving east on California Street, authorities said.
A photo taken by a witness at 7:40 a.m. shows one officer under the front of a black Lexus while a handful of other officers gathered around the vehicle.
The officer was pinned beneath the vehicle and had to be removed by firefighters who arrived onthe scene around 7:45 a.m., the department said. Paramedics administered aid to everyone who had been struck.
The officers have not been publicly identified, and an investigation is ongoing. The driver of the vehicle remained on the scene and was cooperative, the department said.
“Our store has been part of this neighborhood for almost 14 years, and we feel compassion for all involved,” Rohde wrote to Mission Local on behalf of Trader Joe’s.
“There have been way more people stealing,” said the employee. “I’ve been scared something violent like this would happen.”
“It happens so much it feels like this could have been prevented a long time ago.”
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.