Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer was calling Wednesday for Safeway corporate to step up and do something more "proactive" about security at their San Francisco stores, following two violent incidents involving shoplifters attacking store employees shoplifters who were essentially defending their right to shoplift through the most aggressive means possible. The most recent incident happened early Tuesday morning and left an employee at a Richmond District Safeway store seriously injured.
Fewer told KRON 4 she thinks Safeway could, as they already do at the Potrero Center location, hire off-duty SFPD officers and pay them overtime, saying that unlike standard security guards, these officers have "more experience, more training, [and know] how to handle these situations much better."
Fewer said she and the Richmond police captain were planning to meet with Safeway executives this week to discuss this.
Just after midnight, at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, the employee at the Fulton and 7th Avenue Safeway was allegedly sprayed in the face with bug spray, stabbed in the back, and bitten multiple times by the suspect's dog. The suspect also then reportedly attempted to stab other store employees who came to the victim's aid.
The victim was identified by police as a security guard at the store, however KRON 4 refers to him as a "clerk."
The suspect, who was arrested and charged with multiple counts including attempted homicide and robbery, has been identified as 39-year-old Michael Pardo.
Tuesday's incident followed on another, similar incident a week earlier at the Ocean Beach Safeway when a pair of shoplifters allegedly hit a security guard who attempted to stop them, attacking him with a chain and inflicting injuries.
The call for more security at Safeway's stores comes shortly after the company decided to reopen six stores during overnight hours, following a pilot program to shut down these previously 24-hour stores for a few hours each night.
Previously: Safeway Security Guard Fights For Life After Dog Attack, Stabbing
