Shoplifters Tasered by Police After Resisting Arrest

Two men were tasered by Novi police after they resisted arrest for retail fraud at Macy's, according to a police report.

Two officers on patrol at Twelve Oaks Mall on Nov. 23 were flagged down by Macy's loss prevention outside of the store around 4:30 p.m. The loss prevention officer said two men had just stolen three pairs of pants and two long sleeve shirts from the store. The loss prevention officer said the two men were now walking westbound through the parking lot toward Novi road, the report said.

The police officers drove toward subjects; when the men saw the officers, they began running westbound through heavy mall traffic toward Denny's, the report said. The police officers turned on their emergency lights and continued to follow them.

The officers caught up with the men behind Denny's, where one officer ordered them both to the ground, the report said. The men then split up and began running in opposite directions, the report said. One man was in red while the other was in blue.

One officer followed the man in blue on foot, who was running toward Red Lobster and out in front of traffic, the report said. During the chase, the officer said he would tase the man if he did not stop running. Another officer then joined the pursuit when the man suddenly stopped running and squared up with the officer, the report said. The first officer told the man to get on the ground, but he refused. The officer then wrestled him to the ground, while the other officer tried to control his movement, the report said. The officers ordered the man to roll onto his stomach several times, but he refused, so the officers forced him over, the reort said. The man also refused requests to put his hands behind his back, the report said. The report said that the man continued to try to roll out of the officer's control and at one point he was able to sit up and tried to get away, the report said.

A sergeant then arrived on the scene and tried to help control the man, but he continued to resist, the report said. The sergeant then applied a taser to the man and the officers were able to handcuff him, the report said.

The two officers were able to stand the man up and began walking him to the car, but as they got closer, the man started to drag his feet and stumbled forward, pulling one officer with him, the report said. The man's face hit the rear of the car, and the impact broke part of his tooth, the report said. The man refused medical treatment. The man was arrested on retail fraud charges and two counts of resisting and obstructing/assaulting a police officer, the report said.

One of the officers was tired and light-headed from the struggle and received treatment from CEMS at the scene, the report said.

Meanwhile, another officer followed the man in red, who was found walking near Old Navy. The man began running away from the patrol car, and the officer began pursuing him on foot, the report said. The officer told him to stop or he would use his taser, the report said. The man continued to run, so the officer used a taser, then was able to handcuff the man, the report said. The man was arrested on charges of retail fraud and one count of resisting a police officer, the report said.