San Jose police on Saturday said they were investigating after a group entered a Macy's store at the Westfield Oakridge Mall and attempted a theft.
According to police, a group of six to eight men entered the store at around 6 p.m.
Officials said Macy's loss prevention team tried to stop the suspects, when one of them physically assaulted a female employee, who suffered minor to moderate injuries.
The group fled the area before the officers could arrive, police said.
According to San Jose police, a boy and a woman were later detained for interfering with an attempted arrest of the group.
Police added that there is no known relation between the detainees and the group.
It's unknown at this time if any merchandise was stolen.
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Some witnesses were in disbelief and said police went too far during the incident.
A cellphone video obtained by NBC Bay Area Saturday night appeared to show an officer asking a woman to back away outside Oakridge Mall, and then an altercation ensued.
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It all happened as police responded to the mall on reports of a theft inside the Macy’s store involving several suspects.
Two witnesses NBC Bay Area spoke with said they saw security guards detaining a teenager. They said the guards were being rough with the teen, and then the witnesses became more concerned when police arrived.
“The officer decides to get excessively close to my mom, and essentially grabs her arm; she had to fling his arm off, and he got more upset when she was saying what he was doing was wrong. And that’s when he decided to grab her and slam her to the floor,” said Anna Hamed.
Marcella Ruiz, who recorded the video also spoke about the incident.
"At one point, I thought he was going to attack me as soon as he started coming in that direction. I backed up because I was afraid," she said.
It's unknown at this time if any merchandise was stolen.