Officers of the San Mateo Police Department arrested a man on Tuesday for allegedly resisting arrest and threatening an officer after he was suspected of shoplifting from a Safeway store in San Mateo, the department said.
At 4:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve, police officers responded to a call from a Safeway located on the 1600 block of South El Camino Real. An employee reported a theft and told officers that the suspect had left the store.
After the employee gave a description of the suspect, officers searched the surrounding area and found him walking near the intersection of 17th and Palm Avenues in San Mateo.
Jose PirirBoch, a 41-year-old San Mateo resident, allegedly “grabbed a metal chain and swung it in the direction of an officer” as police approached him, the department said in a press release .
PirirBoch then allegedly began running northbound on Palm Avenue with officers chasing after him. As officers caught up to PirirBoch, he stopped running and apparently tried to fight officers.