A routine arrest turned into high drama outside Fresh Grocer last night. At about 9:45 p.m., Penn Police led a hysteric woman, her shirt splattered with blood, while lights from multiple squad cars swirled in the background.
According to Fresh Grocer employee Keith Artis, who says he witnessed the events leading up to the arrest, it started when the supermarket's undercover security guard identified the woman's companion as a shoplifter.
When the undercover guard went to apprehend the alleged shoplifter in the store's foyer area, Artis said the women started grabbing at the plainclothes guard, not knowing that he was in fact a guard.
Around that time, Penn Police arrived on the scene and were able to subdue the shoplifter. They instructed the woman to sit on the ground.
Artis said a Penn officer then grabbed the woman tightly by the arm and spun her around hard to cuff her, causing her chin to slam into the ground and receive a severe laceration.
Artis didn't see how deep the cut was, but said, "I know it was bleeding a whole lot.
"There was blood all over her shirt."
- Jason Schwartz
