Cop Offers Shoplifter Caught Red-Handed A Break, Gets Stabbed In Return

A St. Paul police officer confronted an alleged shoplifter who was caught in the act in a downtown grocery store on Oct. 7, Monday. When he tried to give the thief a break, she stabbed him.

The woman, who is now jailed on felony charges, had reportedly refused the officer’s gesture and stabbed him, as per the criminal complaint.

Ramsey County District Court on Oct. 8, charged Articia L. Moore, 23, with second-degree assault. She is put behind the bars in lieu of $20,000 bail for assaulting Officer Joe Ryan who encountered her around 8 p.m. after the store employees complained to him that the woman had concealed stolen items in her clothing, Fox News reported.

Moore was in denial about the stolen items when the officer interrogated her even though he could clearly see she had hidden them in her clothing. Moore then returned one item but Ryan insisted her to return the rest.

The woman said she was homeless and became desperate, The Tribune reported.

Sgt. Mike Ernster, a spokesman for the Police Department, said, “She had options. Thankfully, he wasn’t seriously hurt.”

Ryan allegedly noticed a knife handle in her pocket and grabbed her arm to deter her from causing any harm. This resulted in a scuffle and the woman allegedly struck Ryan in the chest with a screwdriver and in the arm with a knife, a criminal record emphasized. Ryan allegedly managed to control and seize her thereafter.

This is the third instance of Moore being charged with defying law enforcement which includes one incident in which she supposedly thwacked a St. Paul police officer.

Ryan didn’t incur injuries for the protective vest he was wearing. He suffered a minor cut as the knife nicked his left bicep, according to the charges.

Moore is due to appear in court on Nov. 5.