Ottawa Senators’ Mark Borowiecki Prevents Robbery, ‘Clotheslined’ Thief Off Of Bike, Wrestled Backpack Away From Thief

What do you do if you are an NHL defenseman, and have a day off in the beautiful city of Vancouver? Sightseeing? Museums? Shopping? Sure. But if you’re Ottawa Senators defenseman Mike Borowiecki, you might get in a little physical activity, like thwarting a robbery by clotheslining a thief off his bike and wrestling a stolen backpack away from him.

During the Senators off day Sunday afternoon in Vancouver, Borowiecki whitnessed a person breaking into a vehicle and subsequently steal a backpack. As the robber attempted to flee on his bicycle, Borowiecki clotheslined the thief off of the bike and wrestled him to the ground. Borowiecki then ‘retrieved’ the stolen bag, which contained passports, according to TSN 1200 and Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy.

Mark Borowiecki is returning calls from Vancouver police who require his statement after he foiled a robbery yesterday by clothes lining a guy on a bike who had stolen a bag. He then wrestled him down and retrieved the bag.

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) December 2, 2019

According to CBC, Borowiecki, who goes by the nickname “Boro Cop” among his Ottawa teammates, “wrestled a stolen bag” away from an unidentified person, who had taken it from a car near Granville and West Cordova Streets at around 1:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, according to a statement from the Vancouver Police Department. The suspect then fled on a bicycle.

The defenceman met with Vancouver police on Monday to return the bag, and is expected to address the media on Tuesday.

“We are grateful for Mark’s assistance and do recommend that if anybody does witness a crime to immediately notify the Vancouver Police and to stay safe,” police wrote in a statement.

“Mark, acting like the defenceman he is, tracked down the thief and wrestled the bag away from him as the thief rode away,” said Const. Aaron Roed with Vancouver police.

And more good guy Sens news…the team had extra food after practice and DJ had the idea to pack it up and give it to people in need. So I’m currently out with a bunch of sandwiches handing them out in downtown Vancouver.

You’ve got a good group here #Sens fans.

— Hailey Salvian (@hailey_salvian) December 2, 2019