A Niagara Falls Police officer was working a secondary employment assignment as a security guard at Walmart on Military Road around 5pm when asset protection officers advised him that they were watching a male in the bicycle section that was acting strange, appearing as if they might steal the bike.
The male suspect was tall, white, heavyset, wearing gloves and had a head cover on which blocked 3/4 of his face and head. The male selected a black mountain bike from the rack and filled the tires with air. He used a pump off the shelf and did not pay for the air.
The male pushed the bicycle around the store for a few minutes before making his way to the auto department where he exited the store with the stolen bicycle.
The male did ride the bike eastbound through the lot towards Military Road. The officer did begin following the male and requested assistance from the LaSalle cars. However, no assistance came as there was a simultaneous priority call of a home invasion.
The suspect turned south out of the lot and headed down Military Road. The officer pulled next to the suspect in an unmarked vehicle and activated his emergency lights. He ordered the suspect, through the passenger window, to stop and get off the bike.
According to the officer, the suspect appeared “shocked.” The officer told him that he was a police officer and that he was under arrest. He then warned the suspect that if he did not get off of the bicycle he would be charged with resisting arrest.
The male proceeded to take off on the bike. In the alleyway behind Supermarket Liquors, the male attempted to get off of the bike but became tangled in the pedals, which allowed the officer to catch up.
The officer exited the vehicle as the suspect was running the opposite way towards Military Road. He yelled for him to stop and that he was under arrest, but the suspect refused to stop.
As the officer got relatively close to him, he ordered him to get on the ground. The suspect complied.
The suspect was transported back to Walmart where he was positively ID’d. He was taken to the asset protection office for processing and then was issued an appearance ticket.
The stolen bicycle was returned to Walmart and the suspect was given a lifetime ban (again). It was discovered while processing him that the suspect had previously been banned from Walmart in 2019.
No further information is available at this time.
Thief Steals Bike from Walmart and is Arrested after Police Chase