An Arnold Police officer used a stun gun to subdue a 35-year-old Imperial man who reportedly was running from police following an alleged shoplifting incident. At 8:39 p.m. Oct. 10, Arnold Police were called to Kohl’s, 2150 Michigan Ave., after the man allegedly tried to steal merchandise from the store and then ran from its loss prevention specialists, police reported.
The man climbed over a fence and crossed I-55. However, before crossing the interstate, the man allegedly stopped, turned around and extended both his middle fingers at a pursuing officer, the report said.
Another officer spotted the man in the Arnold Commons shopping center and chased him on foot. The officer eventually used a stun gun to stop the man from entering the Texas Roadhouse restaurant, 806 Arnold Commons Drive, according to the report.
The man claimed he had seizures and was transported to Mercy Hospital South in south St. Louis County. At the hospital, the man allegedly became combative with hospital staff and had to be physically restrained and sedated, the report said.
Since 2009, the man has been convicted of seven felonies, according to the report.
Arnold Police will seek charges against the man through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for stealing and felony resisting arrest because of the number of felony convictions the man has had in the last 10 years, Lt. Clinton Wooldridge said.