42-year-old Kamloops resident, jiu-jitsu instructor and MMA fighter Chad Freeman subdued a man suspected of stealing his truck after a friend spotted the vehicle down the road from his home just hours it had been reported stolen.
"I ran up to him, he was already sitting on the ground, and I put my knee on his stomach and pinned him down," Freeman recalled, speaking to CTV News Vancouver about an incident which took place early Monday morning.
"I'm a pro-fighter. I'm a former king of the cage lightweight champion. I've got two MMA titles, I'm a jiu-jitsu black belt, I own my own martial arts studio here, so he broke into the wrong truck," Freeman boasted.
Earlier, photos of Freeman putting the alleged car thief in a chokehold were published on his Facebook.
Kamloops RCMP later confirmed that police arrived at the scene in a residential area only to find the suspected thief subdued, with the suspect expected to face charges.
According to Freeman, he was forced to choke the alleged thief out after the man tried to reach into his pocket. The fighter said police had later found two knives, drug paraphernalia and a metal bar on the man.
Freeman complained that the interior of his vintage GMC truck had been damaged by the thief, with 14 new car batteries which the thief had also apparently stolen found inside.
Hours after the incident, the suspected car thief was released on bail, which ticked off Freeman even more. "I was just floored," he said. "What I'm pissed off about is this guy got out literally four hours later."
Freeman later posted a rant on Facebook accusing authorities of 'protecting criminals' while punishing "honest working people in Canada," and saying the current situation is why he has planned to leave the country "in the years to come."
According to the fighter, car thefts and break-ins are a "huge issue" in his community.
Police advised others not to emulate Freeman's behaviour, saying a situation can get dangerous if a criminal has weapons on them.
