Police Zap Dad Accused Of Stealing Salad At Chuck E. Cheese

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[beezdotcom]

Your overreaction

Subjective.

and mistating of what was said

Debatable.

is what I said was knee-jerk.

Irrelevant.

[Stu Cohen]

The witnesses said he refused to cooperate. One witness said the officers were out of control.

The officers said he assaulted them, the witnesses said he was repeatedly poked in the chest, but did not assault the officers.

Someone has to be, er, stretching the truth.

You'd think the witnesses would be upset at Gale or causing the incident, but they seem to blame the cops. And they were actually there.

Seems a little odd. I would be supporting the cops 100% if I felt that someone was out of control around my kids (hec, I would help the cops). I find it curious that this isn't the case with these witnesses. Do you think they are in on a conspiracy with him, and agreed to get a cut of any lawsuit money?

[Last Visible Dog]

If he resisted, he should pay the price for that. If the police acted wrongly, they should also suffer the consequences. Agreed?

To quote Frank Zappa: "Give that man a donut and tell him to stick closer to Church-oriented social activities"

...ok, that was really not applicable but for some reason it popped into my head.

You have summed up the entire situation nicely - to quote Zappa again, you have found the crux of the biscuit - although I think the police mishandled the situation given the facts that have been presented. The police have been given the power to KILL PEOPLE and DENY RIGHTS therefore their standard of conduct must be judged at a much HIGHER level than a citizen having lunch.

[SalukiLawyer]

Sad to see so many "Quickdraw McGraws" out there in FReeperland gunning against the police in a knee-jerk way. Those who do so must have serious personal problems in their lives.

I can't believe that you are more concerned with a guy who may have taken an unpaid trip to a salad bar than with actions of armed policemen in this case. Are police never wrong? Do they never escalate situations? Doesn't it look a whole like this one is one where they probably are wrong, and did unecessarily endanger people over nothing?

Yeah, maybe by the time the manager and the police got through pushing this guy's buttons he was to the point they did have to use violence to remove him from the restaurant. The point is, you see absolutely nothing wrong with anyone's behavior here except the dad's, and that is truly mind-boggling.

[r9etb]

I don't leave my kids unattended either.

Either the kids were standing right there -- in which case they could have stepped outside with Mr. Gale -- or they were already unattended while Mr. Gale was engaged in this dispute.

If there was evidence of theft, he would have been so charged.

Not necessarily.

Actually, they can't let a bona-fide theft charge "go" because he (allegedly, but not corroberated by any patron) assaulted him. It would be an additional charge.

They can "let it go." Especially if it would be difficult to prove in court, unlike the assault charges, which will be easy to prosecute.

[Last Visible Dog]

One man's insult is another man's truth. Or were you deliberately missing the point of my original question? That would indeed make you merely 'stubborn', instead of 'comprehension-impaired'.

I think you jumped in by misstating what I said so you should go easy on the passing of judgment on other people. You spewed a personal insult - personal insults are a sure sign you are running out of intellectual ammunition and trying to defend personal insults just makes it worse.

[Cultural Jihad]

. . . and did unecessarily endanger people over nothing?

More than likely he was asked to leave and refused, and hence the trespassing charge. Trespassing itself is "nothing," eh? Interesting.

[beezdotcom]

You'd think the witnesses would be upset at Gale or causing the incident, but they seem to blame the cops.

Actually, the one witness was upset because the guy was tasered in her sister's lap, so she could still be indignant over that. Aside from that, though, I'd like to know if there's any ethnic strife/kinship between witness/suspect, manager/suspect, cop/suspect, cop/witness, etc. That could do a lot to flesh out the entire picture.

[r9etb]

The last words the LEOs told me after they figured out I could not be the perp, was "have a nice day". (Not even sorry, go figure)

They probably figured you probably deserved it for something. And I'll bet they were right, too.... ;-)

[Graycliff]

investigation of disorderly conduct. That would lead me to believe he was loud and disturbing customers.


resisting arrest. Had to be fighting with the officers


trespassing. That charge had to filed by the Establishment, which leads me to believe he was asked to leave by the Manager.

Some people just don't know when to quit.

[RadioAstronomer]

They probably figured you probably deserved it for something. And I'll bet they were right, too.... ;-)

LMAO! At least for the very bad taste in driving a beat up old 1973 blue CJ-5.

[Stu Cohen]

Either the kids were standing right there -- in which case they could have stepped outside with Mr. Gale -- or they were already unattended while Mr. Gale was engaged in this dispute.

Did the police make that option available? We aren't really sure.

If there was evidence of theft, he would have been so charged.

Not necessarily.

Oh yes. Necessarily. If there was evidence, he would be so charged. those guys who go on the 300 mile police chases almost always face 718 counts of running a red light, 100 counts of not using a turn signal, etc, etc. Now, whether they are prosecuted on those things is a different matter - but they are charged with any and all malfeasance where such evidence to do so ecists.

They can "let it go."

Actually, they cannot if there is evidence, unless THE MANAGER decided not to press charges. And if he did that, and had no evidence to backup the initial assertion, Chuck E. Cheese IS going to be writing a check.

Especially if it would be difficult to prove in court

That's up to the DA, not the officers.

unlike the assault charges, which will be easy to prosecute.

If evidence exists for both, they should be equally easy. And given the statements from the eyewitnesses, it doesn't seem that the assault charges are going to be anywhere near easy to prove. Quite the contrary. The taxpayers may very well be writing a check as well.

[Southern_Republican]

"The manager said the man was seen "loading" his plate at the salad bar............."

Where did he get the plate?

[Stu Cohen]

Actually, the one witness was upset because the guy was tasered in her sister's lap, so she could still be indignant over that. Aside from that, though, I'd like to know if there's any ethnic strife/kinship between witness/suspect, manager/suspect, cop/suspect, cop/witness, etc. That could do a lot to flesh out the entire picture.

Oh yeah, a DA's dream case. Proving that all the witnesses lied because they were black/hispanic/whatever.

[Callahan]

Chucky Cheesee is owned, or at least used to be owned, by the guy who invented the Atari video game system. I saw a bio of him on TV. Early on, his business partners told him that the pizza at his restaurants tasted like cardboard and he assured them that kids don't give a damn about good pizza.

[Graycliff]

(I didn't see any charges leading to the incident in the fist place.)
I Do.
Trespassing, obviously he was asked to leave and didn't. As a Peace officer ( at least in TX ) I can't level that charge, only the property owner can.

[TheForceOfOne]

Welcome to Chucky Cheese! Would you like to try our new Taser salad today? Come on, try it! Free Skeeball tickets with every meal!



Thanks for coming, see you next time! Buh Bye!

[Last Visible Dog]

OK, Your gonna have to show me this Authorization. I was a Peace Officer for 28 yrs and I've never seen or heard of it.

You are joking? Right.

Members of the police force are authorized to carry guns and are authorized to use deadly force when it is warranted. This authorization comes from the people. You were a police officer yet you did not know that police officers are authorized to use deadly force?? Something is not right about your story.

As part of their jobs, police officers are authorized to kill people if circumstanced warrant deadly force (that is what "deadly force" means) and police are authorized to deny people their rights (like locking people up against their will - if a citizen tried that it is called kidnapping)

Did you carry a gun when you were a "peace officer"?

Even Barney Fife was issued one bullet.

[SalukiLawyer]

More than likely he was asked to leave and refused, and hence the trespassing charge. Trespassing itself is "nothing," eh? Interesting.

I do not doubt you are correct. He may have stole some lettuce. He may have even stolen a big mounded plate full of lettuce with cherry tomatoes as well. When confronted with his crime, he may have refused to leave, and, his business invitation being revoked he may very well have been guilty of trespassing at that time.

I respectfully invite you to make the jump from your assumption that the dad was doing something wrong to forming a judgment about what response is appropriate by armed agents of the state. While you are fixated on the former, people like Last Visible Dog are saying the latter is a more important issue.

Did you ever watch The Andy Griffith Show? Were you capable of getting the joke that Barney, who was a personality-disorder-in-a-uniform was not a good policeman, and the show made fun of him? Can you imagine an episode where Barney, who can no longer be trusted with a gun, is given a taser (supposing they had those then?)

I can. I think it would be funny as heck.

[Cultural Jihad]

Early on, his business partners told him that the pizza at his restaurants tasted like cardboard and he assured them that kids don't give a damn about good pizza.

Indeed, no one is dragged there against their will and forced to purchase their fare. It shouldn't matter whether they serve the best or worst food; freeloaders should not be tolerated, and if they become uncooperative and rude they should be asked to leave, and if they refuse to leave then they need to spend a timeout in the Naughty Corner with all the other Me-ocrats.