Editor's note: The word hanger has been corrected in the story.

A man wielding a knife attempted to steal about $1,500 in clothes Friday from Sears before dropping the items and escaping, according to police.

Ann Arbor police Lt. Renee Bush said the man walked into the store, 900 Briarwood Circle, and began collecting racks of clothing at about 7:30 p.m. Friday. Loss prevention officers from the store were observing the man grabbing shirts and shorts by the handful and placing them on a rack near the store’s exit, Bush said.

The man then grabbed the clothing, some of which was still on hangers, and left the building without attempting to pay, Bush said.

One of the loss prevention officers approached the man as he was walking out of the store and ordered him to drop the clothing, Bush said. The man dropped the clothes in the parking lot and continued to walk away, she said.

The loss prevention officer ran after the man as he started to sprint, and he ordered him to stop, Bush said. The man turned around and pulled a knife from his pocket, causing the loss prevention officer to give up the chase, Bush said.

The man ran to a nearby gas station, where he got into a car and escaped, Bush said.

The man is described as white, with straight brown hair, a goatee and mustache, fair complexion, thin, between 5-feet-8 inches and six feet tall and weighing about 140 pounds. The car was described as a late-1990s green Mercury Sable, Bush said.

All of the clothing was recovered, Bush said.

Police are still investigating the incident. Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to call the Ann Arbor police anonymous tip line at 734-794-6939.

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Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.