Police in Jacksonville, Texas, said officers were trying to stop a man in a stolen vehicle on Wednesday when he took off on foot, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page.
The suspect ran into the Chick-fil-A parking lot with the police in pursuit.
The surveillance video of the incident shows the customer opening the door of his truck an instant before the suspect runs past.
The suspect ran straight for the door and seemed to lose his balance and trip over another vehicle in the line when he was picked up by the policeman who followed him.
“The suspect was quickly arrested after the ‘HANGRY’ (but helpful) citizen reminded the suspect why you should never run away from the police,” the department wrote in its post.
They did not say what charges, if any, the suspect faces.
The customer was not identified, but several comments in the post suggested that he deserved free Chick-fil-A for his service.