Shoplifting suspect bloody after takedown in San Francisco

Byby Melanie Woodrow KGO logo
Friday, July 31, 2015
Shoplifting suspect bloody after takedown in San Francisco
The amount of force a Bloomingdale's security team used is questioned after a witness captures the bloody aftermath of a takedown.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- New video of a prior shoplifting suspect is raising a lot of questions. In a witness' cellphone video, you can see a man bleeding from his head, surrounded by security officers at the Bloomingdale's store in San Francisco.

The man involved in this incident is not facing any new shoplifting charges, but San Francisco police say Bloomingdale's had previously asked him not to come into the store again. When he did, they asked him to leave. Now, it is unclear how he landed face down on the floor in a pool of blood.

Warning: Viewers may find the above video disturbing to watch

In YouTube video from witness Danny Scher shows what appears to be four plainclothes security guards inside Bloomingdale's, surrounding a man on the ground bleeding.

Scher took the video on Thursday, July 30, 2015 with his cellphone. He told ABC7 News, "I thought I walked into like a gang fight. When I realized these were undercover security for Bloomingdale's, I pulled out my camera because it just didn't seem right."

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the man on the ground was charged twice previously with shoplifting from Bloomingdale's. A loss prevention officer recognized him and asked him to leave when the altercation occurred.

"They seemed to be awfully aggressive. There was blood on the floor, on the tile," Scher said.

SFPD spokesperson Albie Esparza says the man on the ground was not armed. When asked if this was an excessive use of force, Esparza told ABC7 News, "It's really hard to determine based on the video because you see what happens after the fact. It doesn't look pretty and it looks really bad, to be frank, but again, we don't know what the use of force was."

Esparza says Bloomingdale's did not press shoplifting or trespassing charges.

SFPD says the man was taken to SF General with non-life threatening injuries and has not filed charges against the security officers.

Bloomingdale's told ABC7 News the department store is cooperating with SFPD. They declined to comment and did not respond to a request for in store surveillance video.

A different shopper gave us video taken on Friday, July 31 at the Bloomingdale's at the Westfield San Francisco Center. It shows Bloomingdale's security officers on top of another man they had on the floor. A Bloomingdale's spokesperson said SFPD is investigating Friday's incident.