Just because they whiz past you to get from A to B in a hurry, police officers are like the "Terminator," in that they never stop scanning the area while driving.

Monday afternoon, such was the case, and fortunately for a clerk at the Guesthouse Suites hotel on Clearwater in Kennewick.

An officer was speeding by on his way to another call, when he saw a man outside violently swinging a large metal bar at a worker, nearly hitting him. The officer pulled over and quickly apprehended 41-year-old Michael Sean Murdoch, address unknown.

It seems Murdoch was caught trying to steal a significant amount of coffee (probably cups, packets and more) from the hospitality area of the hotel--but he was not a guest. The clerk told him it was only for guests and asked him to leave.

But due to what police later said was Murdoch's "unusual" behavior, the clerk followed him outside to see if he was OK.  At that point, the suspect turned violent and tried to play spring training batting practice on the worker. Luckily he missed.

Murdoch is now in the Benton County jail on Second Degree Assault and theft charges. The clerk was shaken but not hurt.

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