www.esryle.comLOCAL NEWS ACROSS THE NATION
Posted on 03/02/2005 7:09:34 AM PST by esryle
AURORA, Colo. -- Aurora police have reviewed a weekend incident in which a man accused of stealing salad from a Chuck E. Cheese salad bar was hit with a stun gun twice by officers and said that proper procedures were followed.
The incident began at 4:05 p.m. Sunday when officers were called to the restaurant on a report of a larceny in progress.
Police talked to the Chuck E. Cheese manager, who told them that a customer had refused to show proof that he had paid for food. The manager said the man was seen "loading" his plate at the salad bar.
The officers confronted Danon Gale, 29, who was at the restaurant with his children, aged 3 and 7. Patrons said the popular kids pizza parlor was packed with children and families at the time.
According to police, Gale was asked to step outside to discuss the incident.
"According to witnesses (Gale) refused to cooperate with police and a struggle ensued," said Larry Martinez, a police spokesman. He said that Gale became argumentative and shoved one of the officers, a fact disputed by another patron.
"One of the officers kept poking the gentleman in the chest," Felicia Mayo told the Rocky Mountain News.
She was there with her 7-year-old son. She told the newspaper that Gale told the officer "You don't have to do that." She said Gale never put his hands on the officer who was confronting him
The argument escalated until Gale was shoved into the lap of Mayo's sister, who was sitting two booths away, holding a 10-month-old baby. That's when police pulled out a Taser stun gun to subdue him.
"They beat this man in front of all these kids then Tased him in my sister's lap," Mayo told the newspaper. "They had no regard for the effect this would have on the kids. This is Chuck E. Cheese, you know."
Gale's two children were "screaming and hollering and crying" as Gale was hit two times with the stun gun.
Police arrested Gale as his children and other customers watched. They took him outside, leaving his children inside the restaurant.
Gale was arrested for investigation of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and trespassing.
His two children were picked up by a relative.
The manager of the restaurant declined comment and Gale said he couldn't talk about it, after hiring an attorney.
An Aurora Police spokesman said that the sergeant on the scene wrote a report on the incident and forwarded it to his commander who determined that proper police procedures were followed relating to the use of the Taser gun .
holy crap
The horror, the horror.
Buffet bandit strikes again.
If this report is accurate it's another case of taxpayers having to cover the abuses of our "representatives"...because it's a sure thing any costs the police department incurs in a lawsuit is going to come out of our taxes.
Just damn...
Larceny is larceny. Supposedly someone who trespasses onto your property but only steals some landscaping and not the safe, well that's all okay, eh?
That's it, then - nothing to see here - move along....
...or you just might get Tasered.
Don't say that you haven't been warned!
Twice?
Now that can be classified as a bad day.
Btw, I went to a Chuck E Cheese years ago. Worst pizza I ever ate...
Imagine that. A Chuck-E-Cheese Salad Stealer.
Somebody ratted him out.
The key words. Is this report accurate? I'm thinking no -- there's probably a lot more to the story than Ms. Mayo's account provides.
Having seen what the media does to stories I know something about, I don't trust the media to report accurately, especially on stories like this one.
Shove your jackboots where the sun don't shine.
If Mr. Gale was still struggling after the first zap, I'd say he was not behaving in a particularly gentle manner.
Heh...real life ZOT ping!
I notice that he wasn't charged with theft - I wonder if he really stole the salad or not?
Maybe he was just hogging the bacon bits.
"Officer, when you're finished Tasering the salad thief, could you Taser my pepperoni slices? They look a little undercooked. Thanks..."
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