A Victoria man is thanking police for arresting him after he allegedly started a four-person brawl while trying to shoplift from a store.
According to VicPD, the man is grateful to be in police custody as he can now receive detox and other social supports that he could not access on his own.
On Sept. 9, at approximately 7:30 p.m., police say they were called to the 2600-block of Quadra Street for a report of a man trying to shoplift from a store.
The man allegedly started to fight with a security guard who attempted to stop him from leaving the business and was only restrained when the store manager and a passerby came to the guard's assistance.
While officers were en route to the scene, a caller told 911 that the suspect claimed to have a weapon on him and that he threatened to stab the three people who were restraining him. Several additional officers were then directed to the store.
Once officers arrived, they took the suspect into custody following a brief struggle. Police say no one was injured during the incident.
Once the man was arrested, police say he thanked the officers for taking him into custody.
"The suspect allegedly remarked that he was in the midst of days-long period of drug use and had been unable to successfully access detox and other social supports," VicPD said in a news release on Wednesday.
"The suspect, who was known to the officer from past interactions, told the officer that he was aware that he would have access to support while in custody."
He was then held in police custody until Tuesday morning when he was presented before the courts and connected with support services.
Police recommended a number of charges against him, including theft, robbery, assault and resisting arrest.
