More Details On That Whole Foods Stabbing

More Details On That Whole Foods StabbingPhoto: Juan Carlos Guerrero / ABC 7
Amy Stephenson
Published on August 11, 2014
As you might recall, there was a stabbing at the Whole Foods at Haight & Stanyan two weeks ago. At the time, very few details were known, save that someone stabbed a security guard in the arm, after the guard tried to prevent him from stealing something from the store. 
Raj Vaswani, the new Park Station Police Captain, filled in some details in Park Station's August newsletter. 

35-year-old Christopher Pittman, from Chico, California, went to Whole Foods at about 8:30 in the morning on Monday, July 28th. He attempted to take some items from the store without paying, and a security guard, whose name wasn't released, tried to stop him. Pittman then stabbed the guard in the arm "severely" and took off running. A Whole Foods employee ran out after him to get a description and note the direction he was running, which the employee then passed on to the officers who showed up on the scene. 

Pittman took off towards Golden Gate Park, and he was found later in Sharon Meadows. He took "a hostile stance" and still had the knife with him. Officers arrested him and recovered the knife, and one officer was wounded. Pittman was arrested and booked for assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, resisting arrest, and weapons violations. 

Vaswani goes on to offer some tips on what to do if you witness a crime in the future: 

It's important to first get to a point of safety, either cover or distance. Then breath and absorb; What is going on? Who is involved? What are they wearing / doing? Who is with them? Do they have weapons (where/what)? What cars did they flee in and what the plate might be? If you can capture it on your phone camera, it's great, but only if you can capture it safely. When you call 911, be prepared to answer questions about what you saw and descriptions. Also sticking around to make a statement sometimes makes a really big difference on if a case will be  rebooked or not. Having a 3rd party statement is GOLD in serious crimes. 

Seems like pretty good advice. As always, stay safe and stay sane out there, folks.