Tyler Police Investigate Shoplifting/Evading

TYLER – An off duty Tyler police officer was slightly injured while trying to stop two shoplifting suspects. It happened around 3:00 yesterday afternoon at Dillards in the Broadway Square Mall.

The officer, J.R. Smith, was working a part-time job at Dillards when he was notified by loss-prevention of two black males that were in the store who have previously stolen from Dillards. The men, who were in the process of filling garbage bags full of merchandise, immediately began fleeing on foot when Smith approached them.

The officer chased them into the parking lot on the west side of the mall where the two got into a silver vehicle and accelerated rapidly in reverse out of the parking stall, nearly running over Officer Smith. The officer gave numerous commands for the suspects to stop and also struck the vehicle with his baton. The men then rammed an unoccupied vehicle causing it to collide with another unoccupied vehicle. They then fled in their car north bound on Old Bullard. Officer Smith sustained minor injury to his right hand and was treated by EMS at the scene.