A member of the Tucson City Council says he was in an altercation Friday night with a suspected shoplifter at a midtown store.
Paul Cunningham said he was at a Walgreens on East Broadway near Jessica Avenue about 8 p.m. to get a prescription when he noticed a man putting expensive alcohol into a large vinyl bag.
Store workers began to holler at the man, who appeared to have been known to employees, he said.
That’s when Cunningham said he began using his cellphone to take photos of the man, who then ran from the store.
Cunningham, a former employee of the Pima County Juvenile Probation Department and former member of the Army Reserve and National Guard, said he reacted and pushed the man to the ground.
He then got on top of the man and pulled the stolen bottles from the bag.
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Tucson Councilman Paul Cunningham
The altercation lasted “all of nine seconds,†Cunningham said Saturday. “It wasn’t a thing.â€
“I totally acted impulsively,†he said. “Luckily it didn’t escalate into something serious.â€
Cunningham called police, who responded to Walgreens to take a report on the incident.
Cunningham insists he did everything he was supposed to do following the altercation.
“I was trying my best to stay back while Walgreens employees instructed the man to return the merchandise, but I ended up intervening,†he said on social media. “I admit I acted impulsively and I do not encourage people to intervene the way I did. Had he been armed, it could have ended badly for me and the Walgreens staff.â€
Tucson police confirmed a shoplifting call at the store. But police released no details Saturday and said only that no suspect was located by officers.
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