SAN FRANCISCO – When a barricaded man tried to take a customer’s bag at Carlin’s Cafe on Friday morning, employee Nick Grant felt he had to intervene.
Fortunately, I came with a cart, I hit him with the cart, and from there we just started fighting. “He hit me with a bear, we rolled under a small fence and I held him until the police came,” he said. Grant.
The altercation was caught on the coffee shop’s surveillance camera.
Another customer stepped in to help, and Grant held the man down for seven minutes before the police arrived.
San Francisco police identified the man as 42-year-old Amir Moner of Concord. He was booked into the San Francisco County Jail for attempted robbery and other charges related to the incident, as well as warrants in other counties.
“I’m in pain this morning. I’m still coughing a lot. But I’m fine,” said Grant on Saturday morning when he was back at work making coffee. “I will not let someone like that stop me from doing what I want.”
Some customers saw the cut on Grant’s head, and one even gave him a hug. Another customer, who works at the Black Heart tattoo shop down the street, came to show support after seeing the video on social media.
“I think it makes you happy that there is someone who cares about someone who may be a stranger to him, his bag or whatever it was. I think this is very good,” said Alejandra Ramirez.
Grant said he had extensive experience in security and warfare, so he was able to intervene. He said it’s unfortunate that crimes like this are nothing new in this area, and they have a bad history with police response times.
“I’m glad I was there. You know it’s one of those things that people can look away from in some situations, or you can have time to do it, and I want people to feel empowered to do it,” said Grant.