SAN JOSE, Calif. – Police say a police officer in San Jose was stabbed in the arm on Tuesday morning while trying to arrest a suspect.
The San Jose Police Department said that at 9:49 a.m., they were called to the area of Coleman Avenue and Taylor Street because someone was seen waving a machete at an armed security guard at a store.
They threw the blade away and ran away on foot.
As soon as the police arrived, they saw the suspect and tried to arrest him. Police say the man stabbed an officer in the arm during the clash.
Emiliano, who works at the nearby Wing Stop, told KTVU that he saw the fight.
“I saw the security chasing a homeless man, and then two to three police officers at the corner of Target, and they started chasing the homeless man down the street,” he added. “They tried to restrain him and then they started beating him with a baton and then all I heard was a police officer was getting stabbed.”
A second witness showed a video of several police officers arresting the man.
The cop and the suspect were both taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
They told KTVU Most of the time, the area is quiet, and the homeless people who live there keep to themselves.
Officer Tanya Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the police, said the suspect stabbed the officer with something else, like a knife. That person did not stab the police officer with the knife, she said.
“We’re very fortunate that no one else was injured, but we’re also very grateful that our officer is okay,” he said.
Hernandez wouldn’t say anything else about the suspect, but he did say that he was wanted for a crime.