The Trader Joe’s theft suspect fatally struck by a vehicle Friday morning after a foot chase with San Francisco police officers was a former worker at the supermarket, the company said Saturday.
Two officers were also hit by the car and injured while trying to detain the suspect outside the Nob Hill store. Both officers are expected to recover.
“A tragic accident involving a former Trader Joe’s Crew Member and members of the San Francisco Police Department occurred [Friday] morning,” a spokesperson wrote in an email to the Chronicle. “Our store has been part of this neighborhood for almost 14 years, and we feel compassion for all involved.”
The store declined to provide further details.
Video footage posted on social media appeared to show a conscious police officer lying on his back still underneath the car and communicating with passersby. Another officer lay off to the side, and the suspect was also on the ground behind the car.
Louis Wong, president of the San Francisco police union, said in a statement that the officers had been “flagged down by a Trader Joe’s employee, who alerted them to a suspect.”
The man resisted and fled, police said. The two officers chased him into the street, and Wong said there was a “violent struggle” before all three were hit by a car.
One officer had to be pulled out from beneath the car by firefighters, police said. All three were transported to San Francisco General Hospital. The suspect died, and the two officers were treated for leg injuries, Wong said.
The driver, who was traveling east on California Street, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, police said.