Prichard AL police chief tackles robbery suspect www.privateofficer.com

 

PRICHARD, Ala.May 11 2012 It’s not every day you see a police chief take down a suspect, literally. Surveillance cameras recorded Prichard Police Chief Jimmie Gardner tackling a robbery suspect Saturday morning at an Advance Auto Parts store on Highway 45.

Police were on high alert for a man going store to store, jumping up on counters and stealing items. Gardner had a suspicion he would strike again in the same area, and saw a man matching the suspect’s description entering the Advance Auto Parts store. Gardner entered the store, saw the man start stealing items, and confronted him.

“He took him down with a football tackle,” store clerk Lelah Patterson said.

After being knocked to the ground, the suspect managed to break free. He started running outside, but was taken down again by Chief Gardner and eventually arrested.

“I did sustain some bruises and bumps,” Chief Gardner told Local 15 News. “But that goes with the territory. At the end of the day, the idea was to get this thug off the street.”

Gardner said the man was armed with a windshield wiper. The store clerk said this should be a lesson to all would-be robbers.

“Don’t be doin’ stuff you aren’t supposed to be doin’,” Patterson said. “The police here make their presence known. They protect their city.”