Transient man injures four South San Francisco officers during arrest

Four officers were injured while taking a man into custody in South San Francisco on Sunday after he allegedly stole a man’s cellphone from his vehicle and sprayed him with a can of insect killer when he tried to intervene, police said Tuesday.

Julian Lee, a 30-year-old transient, was arrested after a 58-year-old man found Lee rummaging through his vehicle in the first block of Tanforan Avenue shortly after 9:20 a.m. Sunday, according to police. Lee tried to flee and when the victim gave chase and caught up to him, Lee sprayed toward his face with the insect killer, then continued to flee and scaled a fence and ran away along the 300 block of South Maple Avenue, police said.

Officers found Lee and eventually apprehended him after a chase, but he resisted their attempts to handcuff him, causing injuries to the four officers. Two had to be treated at a hospital before being released, according to police.

Lee was also treated at a hospital for minor abrasions before being released and booked into San Mateo County Jail.