Foot chase ends in arrest of suspected book thief

As the beginning-of-the-semester checkout lines at The Book Store tested the patience of everyone waiting to make purchases yesterday, one man unsuccessfully tried a short cut. University Police arrested a man yesterday after he allegedly stole a book from The Book Store, and led University Police officers on a chase at about 12:45 p.m. But the man did not make it far, according to University Police Sergeant Thomas Rambo. Rambo said the man was apprehended on Locust Walk by three officers after a brief chase from The Book Store. The man did not give up easily, however. He hit one of the officers, giving him a cut and a small bruise under his right eye. The officer was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, treated and released. "I was so shocked to see it happen," College junior and Undergraduate Assembly member Lance Rogers said. "It happened right in front of me. I was just walking on the walk when I saw an officer on top of some guy." In addition, a large crowd gathered to watch the officer and the man struggle on the pavement. "The officer threw his hands on the guy's shoulder and tackled him to the ground," Rogers said. "The two were rolling on the ground in front of me and I didn't know whether I should try to help the officer by grabbing the man. "I was worried because the officer's gun was still on his waist, and I thought that perhaps he could get the officer's gun and use it," he added. "But the officer did a good job of keeping the guy under control and eventually handcuffing him." After the man was handcuffed, University Police put him in the paddy wagon, which had driven down Locust Walk as it gave chase to the suspect. The man was taken by University Police to Southwest Detectives, where he was was charged with retail theft and aggravated assault. Officials from The Book Store declined to comment until they had more information on the incident.

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