Thief stabs, slightly wounds police officer in fight

A thief stabbed a University Police officer after a foot chase Tuesday night, University Police said yesterday. The stabbing occurred after a chase from a theft scene to an empty lot on the 4000 block of Ludlow Street at 8:49 p.m., Tuesday. According to University Police Sergeant Michael Fink, the thief took two video cassettes from the Mega-Video store at 3925 Walnut Street and fled. The store manager, who had witnessed the theft, then reported it to University Police over the telephone. UPPD Officer Adam Powell, who was informed of the theft, spotted the thief on the 3900 block of Walnut Street. The thief ran from Powell when he saw the officer. Powell chased the man westward to 40th Street, and then north on 40th to Ludlow Street, and finally westward on Ludlow to a vacant lot. The thief tried to hide himself behind the steps in the corner of the lot, but Powell saw him hiding, and approached the man. Fink said the man then told Powell, "Get away from me or I'll stab you." Powell approached, and the thief swung at him with what Powell called "a shiny object." The thief struck Powell in the upper left thigh, leaving a small puncture and an abrasion. Even after a lighted search they conducted later on for the weapon, police are not certain what instrument the thief used to stab Powell. "There was a lot of junk back there -- a pile of rock and debris," Fink said. Powell arrested the man after the stabbing. UPPD Officer Michael Paul assisted in the arrest. Police charged the arrested man with retail theft, aggravated assault, resisting arrest and recklessly endangering another person. The thief, whose name was not released, was later taken to the West Detectives Division of the Philadelphia Police Department for arraignment.

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