The phone should have been off in the theatre & any time a policeman tells you to do anything you should comply but I am appalled at the casual use of mace too. The officer had gotten the couple out of the theatre into the lobby without mace. Were they giving him lip on the way to the door? He should have called for backup.
My friend was standing on the end of his driveway with his dog. The dog barked at a passing jogger. The jogger maced the dog & also my friend. My friend ended up in the emergency room. Mace is something, like a gun, that should be used only when absolutely necessary.
I carry mace on my key ring I would only use it if I was being attacked, not argued with or harrassed, but attacked.
I suspect the officer was tired of the couple & rightly so, but if he couldn't handle them, he should have called for back up.
The man started to take a swing at the officer, the woman hit him with her soda. Mace was the minimum defence. He should have used his stick.
Wow, the jogger is pretty lucky. Mace doesn't affect animals the same as humans. Could have made the owner lose control of the dog, without affecting the dogs ability to attack. Hope the jogger was arrested and/or sued if it happened as you say.