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On Friday morning at around 6:45 a.m., a man walked into Carlin’s Cafe and attempted to steal a backpack from a customer — but cafe employee Nick Grant pounced to stop him before he could walk out.
Security camera footage shared with Mission Local shows the man, wearing a black hoodie and a mask, walking into the cafe at 14th and Valencia streets. As soon as he grabs a customer’s backpack from the bench, Grant is seen running toward him, ramming a service cart into him and tackling him to the ground.
During the altercation that ensued, the suspect pepper sprayed Grant and the customer. Eventually, Grant held the suspect down on the floor, lying on top of him, and remained in place for about six minutes — until police officers arrived at the scene.
No one was seriously injured.
“Luckily I had the background and training to be that right guy at the right time,” said Grant, who added that he was raised by Marines.
According to the San Francisco Police Department, the suspect was transported to the hospital for injuries unrelated to the incident. He was later booked and transported to San Francisco County Jail.
The following morning, Grant returned to Carlin’s for the opening shift and welcomed the same regular customer again, as well as a customer who was a bystander to Friday’s incident. “Before yesterday I just knew him as ‘ham egg and bagel guy’,” said Grant. “Now it’s a first name basis.”
“He [Grant] didn’t want to take the day off. I tried to make him,” said Matt Carlin, the cafe’s owner, who lauded Grant for protecting the customer.
“He was protecting a customer who was being assaulted with bear mace,” said Carlin. “We need more people like him.”
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Source: missionlocal.org