SFPD officer stabbed the leg in SFO confrontation

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A San Francisco police officer was hospitalized on Tuesday afternoon after being stabbed in the leg at San Francisco International Airport, apparently by a transient, according to an airport spokesman.

The officer, who was not identified, was responding to reports of a suspicious person walking on the lower level roadway in front of Terminal 1 about 2:30 p.m., said airport spokesman Doug Yakel.

When the officer arrived, the man was inside the baggage claim area. He lunged at the officer with a knife.

The suspect was arrested. The extent of the officer’s injuries was not immediately known, but they were not believed to be life-threatening.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com