San Francisco’s former director of public works, an organization that cleans, maintains, and makes repairs in the city, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly trying to rob a man at knife point, according to law enforcement officials.
Mohammed Nuru, 58, who was known as “Mr. Clean,” was arrested after police were alerted to a man with a knife, the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement. “Officers met with the victim who told officers that he was approached by an adult male suspect who produced a knife and demanded the victim’s property. Fearing for his safety, the victim left and notified police,” said the department.
Statement regarding incident involving person with a knife in the city’s Bayview District ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8W8me9wAm6
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) June 3, 2021
The arrest occurred at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank in the Dogpatch neighborhood, according to ABC-7. Nuru has been charged with attempted robbery and booked in the San Francisco County Jail.
Keely Hopkins, the food bank’s communications manager, told the local news agency that Nuru has been a volunteer for a while and that an exchange occurred between him and another volunteer in the break room. She said Nuru had approached the other man, who was eating potato chips, with what she believed to be a kitchen knife.
The man then called the police because he felt threatened. While the exact nature of the incident remains unclear, “sources” reportedly told ABC-7 that Nuru wanted to steal a bag of chips but then said he was joking.
The arrest is Nuru’s latest run-in with law enforcement. Last year, Nuru was charged with fraud in connection with a public corruption scandal. However, he stayed on paid administrative leave and kept his job for another two weeks.
Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, said Nuru couldn’t be fired due to California law, which bars employers from letting someone go because they’ve been arrested, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“While I understand the desire for him to be fired immediately, it’s important that we follow all the laws required to terminate a public employee, no matter the circumstances. Before this process had been completed, he submitted his resignation,” she said, reports the Chronicle. “I will continue to support the full independent investigation underway to uncover any improper actions that were taken and recommend reforms to ensure they never happen again.”
Back in February, the owner of a recycling business was sentenced to one year in prison for bribing Nuru with a $36,000 Rolex watch and lying to the FBI. According to CBS-SF, prosecutors have argued that Nuru received hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes from various people, including the recycling business owner, who was contacted with the city of San Francisco to clean up construction waste.