[NYCFarmboy]

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...58/detail.html

Man Tasered By Police In Salad Bar Dispute

Aurora Police Say Proper Procedures Followed At Chuck E. Cheese


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 at 145005 East Exposition 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.
Aurora police used a Taser on a man accused of pilfering salad at a Chuck E. Cheese. "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 tasered 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.

[demograph68]

Did he really deserve that?

[t6hawk]

That is complete overkill. I hope those officers get reprimanded for what sounds like excessive force. And leaving his kids there...that is just wrong. no matter which way you look at it. Did the cops wait until the relative arrived or did they just leave?

[nredman]

that sucks, but i gotta say i laughed when i read the topic Man Tasered at Chucky-Cheese for taking too much Salad. thats just funny sorry

[E's Lil Theorem]

Not too much sald; for getting a salad and not showing proof that he paid for said salad. Anyway, I doubt the two police officers involved will get any sort of punishment, but I'm sure the taxpayers will see a bill when the dude wins his lawsuit.

[fireside]

Originally posted by E's Lil Theorem:
Not too much sald; for getting a salad and not showing proof that he paid for said salad.

isn't Chuck E. Cheese a buffet? how do you exactly show proof that you paid for something at a buffet?

[sideus]

Originally posted by t6hawk:
That is complete overkill. I hope those officers get reprimanded for what sounds like excessive force. And leaving his kids there...that is just wrong. no matter which way you look at it. Did the cops wait until the relative arrived or did they just leave?

I guess you missed the part in the article where it stated a struggle ensued.

[starman]

Originally posted by sideus:
I guess you missed the part in the article where it stated a struggle ensued.

She said Gale never put his hands on the officer who was confronting him

[d4nth3m4n]

i smell lawsuit!

[E's Lil Theorem]

Originally posted by fireside:
isn't Chuck E. Cheese a buffet? how do you exactly show proof that you paid for something at a buffet?

It's been a while since I've been to Chuck E.'s, but I'd imagine they give you a receipt like most buffets do.

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
i smell lawsuit!

Originally posted by NYCFarmboy:
... Gale said he couldn't talk about it, after hiring an attorney....

Strong sense of smell you got there

[BoomStick]

We have a loose cannon cop that shot a kid in the face in my neighborhood last weekend.

Strange how the car camera got the chase, but when the gun was about to go off there is no footage.

All cops are dirty.

[ManOfSteal]

Only in Aurora, Colorado.�

[sideus]

Originally posted by BoomStick:
All cops are dirty.

Proof?

[demograph68]

Originally posted by sideus:
Proof?

They lack this I guess.

[BoomStick]

Lessee, a cop a month here has been either charged with murder, theft, fraud, racketeering, domestic disputes ending in brutality. Take your pick.

I got hit from behind a year ago and the cop LIED and said that I pulled out in front of the woman that hit me.

Little did I know she was givin up the snatch to him.

Cops are dirty and dishonest. Never met a good one.

You become a cop when you are too stupid to work at McDonalds.

[sideus]

Since the patron contradicts the police's version of the events, we'll automatically believe the cops were in the wrong here. Maybe the patron has a thing against the police and is lying?

Cops don't tase people for no reason. The PD found the officers did nothing wrong in this incident and that they followed proper procedure. Now, let us focus on the real issue here. The guy is suspected of stealing.

People need to support the police officers instead of this "all cops are bad" crap. Look at what happened in L.A. Teen boy, about 13 years old, steals a car 3-4 in the morning (why is a 13 year old out that late anyway). Cops locate the car, attempt to stop it. Teenage boy then uses stolen car as a weapon by smashing into other patrol cars. Cops shoot to stop the car from hurting anyone. Boy dies. But instead of questioning the parents about the actions of their child, the L.A. city council and community demand "change" on the policy of firing on moving vehicles and call for the officer's head. Why change it? The policy worked. Officer fired, the vehicle was immobilized and the vehicle is no longer a danger to the officers or others. And then the race card is thrown in because the media then reports the story as "Unarmed black teenager shot by police". So now that already has a negative connotation to it and people assume that the cops in L.A. shoot unarmed blacks for no reason.

Was anyone here at this Chucky Cheese when this incident occurred? I wasn't so i can't say who was right or wrong. However, based on what I've read in this article, one can form an opinion on what occurred. After reading this I can say (now, this is my opinion, YMMV) that the suspect is probably a jackass. Hindsight is 20/20. It is real easy for us to sit here on our Macs and judge people on situations we read about, but yet not experience any of these stressful situations. Being a police officer is tremendously stressful. As an officer, you have to assume that the people around you may be a threat to you. There are people out there that do not like the police and will do anything they can to hurt anyone in uniform. What an untrained, uninformed person may see as police brutality may be just the police doing what they have been trained to do. Officer safety is #1.

[sideus]

Originally posted by BoomStick:
You become a cop when you are too stupid to work at McDonalds.

That tells me all I need to know about you.

[AKcrab]

Originally posted by sideus:
Cops don't tase people for no reason. The PD found the officers did nothing wrong in this incident and that they followed proper procedure. Now, let us focus on the real issue here. The guy is suspected of stealing.

Are you a cop, or have cops in your family?

[rozwado1]

Does chuck e. cheese still have the teenage mutant ninja turtles arcade game? That's about all I remember from that place. That, and those scary robots that danced on stage.

edit: if i were a cop, I would taze EVERYBODY.

[ManOfSteal]

Originally posted by rozwado1:
That, and those scary robots that danced on stage.

I remember how pissed I was when I found out they weren't real...and yes:

A.) Somebody actually had to explain to me they were not real, I was to foggy-eyed to see the truth myself.

B.) I was pissed.

C.) I remember being pissed.

[demograph68]

Me at Chucky Cheese!

[malvolio]

Originally posted by sideus:
Cops don't tase people for no reason. The PD found the officers did nothing wrong in this incident and that they followed proper procedure. Now, let us focus on the real issue here. The guy is suspected of stealing.

Theft of produce, what a major crime.
And being found to have followed "proper procedure" by their own PD? Meaningless.
Two years ago on New Years Eve at about 5 p.m., two cops here in Albany, NY opened fire on a drunk driver on a crowded downtown street corner.
They killed an innocent passer-by.
Their excuse - the drunk had put his car in reverse and was driving toward them.
They were found to have followed "proper procedure". A multi-million dollar wrongful-death lawsuit is in the works.

[fireside]

Originally posted by malvolio:
Theft of produce, what a major crime.

he didn't even steal anything, he was suspected of stealing something.

[ghporter]

Originally posted by BoomStick:
All cops are dirty.

Just remember that the next time somebody breaks into your home. And remind the cops that they're all dirty when they come to examine the situation and file a report. Don't forget to remind them when....oh, nevermind. Saying "all cops are dirty" is like saying "everyone from [any specific country] is dishonest." Completely invalid arguement.

Now, if we bothered to pay these people properly, for regularly getting shot at, and far too often actually getting shot, all in the name of protecting YOU, then maybe there would be less of a problem.

Yes, they went too far, as did the managaer of the restaurant, who should have either gotten the guy away from the salad bar as soon as somebody thought he was eating without paying, or as soon as he sat down afterward. STUPID manager. Overreacting cop.

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally posted by ghporter:
...for regularly getting shot at...

hahaha, no. not in aurora. there isn't anything within 30 miles of there other than McMansions and strip malls. white collar suburban armpit.

*in before columbine reference*

[MountainMac]

Originally posted by malvolio:
Theft of produce, what a major crime.

He didn't get Tased because he was stealing produce, jackass--he got Tased because he started a physical confrontation with a police officer.

Sideus, I have to agree with you here--it's easy for people to sit back and judge cops, but every one of us civilians has the option to walk away from agressive/confrontational situations. The police don't have that choice. That's why they carry non-lethal weapons (like Tasers, and OC) in addition to their duty firearms, so that schmucks like Mr. "I'm-Too-Cheap-To-Pay-$6.99-For-The-Buffet" don't get killed when they shove a police officer.

Now I'm not saying this cop was definitely in the right, as there are two sides to every story (both of which are represented in this article), but the fact remains that this was not an innocent bystander who got Tased for "stealing produce."

[Cody Dawg]

First of all, Chuck E. Cheese is just a disgusting carrier-monkey-germ-infested-CDC-challenged environment where no parents who REALLY care about their children would step inside.

The food is disgusting, the people who work there are rejects from every other retail or restaurant store within a 100-mile radius, and the entire concept is to rip little kids off at their parent's expense.

$1.00 for a 30-second game is standard.

I hope he gets a lot of "dough" from the Big Mouse.

Second of all, as anyone who knows Denver can attest, Aurora is the armpit of Denver.

[MountainMac]

And a few words from Tim Wilson on Chuck E. Cheese:


I got combat training from overseas
Now I'm a bouncer at the Chucky Cheese
I think I'd rather spend a year in jail
Than another afternoon in Chucky Cheese Hell

Momma drives Chipper to the Chucky Mall
and watches him waller in some plastic balls
The band sucks and the pizza's cold
And you eat it with a slobering 4-year-old
Chucky Cheese Hell
I'm in Chucky Cheese Hell
Squalling younguns and a skeeball bell
In Chucky Cheese Hell

Puke with pepperoni still smells the same
You waste a paycheck on a video game
Lined up out the door like the Stones are in town
Ain't enough Chucky ass-whooopings to go round
In Chucky Cheese Hell

I did two tours of duty in Vietnam
Fighting jungle rot and breathing napalm
But they couldn't torture me half as well
As those litte birthday %&^$@ at Chucky Cheese Hell

[MountainMac]

Originally posted by d4nth3m4n:
hahaha, no. not in aurora. there isn't anything within 30 miles of there other than McMansions and strip malls. white collar suburban armpit.

Um, ever driven down Colfax Avenue?

[thunderous_funker]

Originally posted by MountainMac:
He didn't get Tased because he was stealing produce, jackass--he got Tased because he started a physical confrontation with a police officer.

Not according to the eye-witness in the article. Sounds like the cops were the one's starting a physical confrontation--including shoving the guy into some innocent bystander's lap.

Wouldn't surprise me. Its not a job that attracts non-violent people and the stress doesn't help. I've met plenty of cops that were ticking time-bombs that desperately needed a career change. Doesn't make them bad people. I'm not sure how you could keep that job and NOT be a bit of a nutter.

What I"m wondering is in what town does a manager call the cops when he thinks someone might be pilfering a trip to the salad bar?

In what town do cops get that call and rush right over????

"salad theft in progress!! Call for backup!! Lock and load!!"

What a farce.

[AKcrab]

Originally posted by ghporter:
Now, if we bothered to pay these people properly, for regularly getting shot at, and far too often actually getting shot, all in the name of protecting YOU, then maybe there would be less of a problem.

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/leoka03.pdf
(Law Enforcement Officers Assaulted)

From Table 57, page 69. (2003 data)

Total Assaults: 57,841
Assaults with firearms: 1,866
Percent injured: 11.6%
Number of officers: 482,985

"Regularly getting shot at?"

My math shows that approximately 0.4% of officers get shot at, and of those .4%, 11.6% are injured.

Yes, cops have a dangerous job, but to make it sound like the vast majority are shot at even once a year is misleading.

[olePigeon]

More proof that Colorado's food sucks.

[ghporter]

Originally posted by AKcrab:
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/leoka03.pdf
(Law Enforcement Officers Assaulted)

From Table 57, page 69. (2003 data)

"Regularly getting shot at?"

My math shows that approximately 0.4% of officers get shot at, and of those .4%, 11.6% are injured.

Yes, cops have a dangerous job, but to make it sound like the vast majority are shot at even once a year is misleading.

On the whole, being a professional law officer means that you can get shot at. The chance is there for them, every day, in every event they respond to. My point for that section of my post is that they are vastly underpaid for risking their lives, as are firemen.

That the vast majority of them are not dirty, but instead do their level best every day in a job where there is a good reason that it is standard practice to wear body armor day in and day out, where they are often disparaged by the very people they work to protect, and where there are indeed individuals who would like to kill them simply for their choice of profession is the point of the rest of it.

The stats also show that bad guys are awful shots, but that's another discussion.

[MountainMac]

Originally posted by ghporter:
On the whole, being a professional law officer means that you can get shot at. The chance is there for them, every day, in every event they respond to. My point for that section of my post is that they are vastly underpaid for risking their lives, as are firemen.

That the vast majority of them are not dirty, but instead do their level best every day in a job where there is a good reason that it is standard practice to wear body armor day in and day out, where they are often disparaged by the very people they work to protect, and where there are indeed individuals who would like to kill them simply for their choice of profession is the point of the rest of it.

The stats also show that bad guys are awful shots, but that's another discussion.

Most cops are awful shots, too.

Most police departments will allow any member of the community to do a ridealong with them for a few hours or an entire shift. I would highly recommend this to those of you who think cops are "dirty" and "dishonest." Plus, it's a lot of fun!

[James L]

Originally posted by BoomStick:
Lessee, a cop a month here has been either charged with murder, theft, fraud, racketeering, domestic disputes ending in brutality. Take your pick.

I got hit from behind a year ago and the cop LIED and said that I pulled out in front of the woman that hit me.

Little did I know she was givin up the snatch to him.

Cops are dirty and dishonest. Never met a good one.

You become a cop when you are too stupid to work at McDonalds.

If being stupid is a barrier to working at McDonalds I guess you will never be working there.

Actually, out of curiousity, where do you and your high horse work?

[thunderous_funker]

Originally posted by MountainMac:
Most police departments will allow any member of the community to do a ridealong with them for a few hours or an entire shift. I would highly recommend this to those of you who think cops are "dirty" and "dishonest." Plus, it's a lot of fun!

Do they let you taze salad-thieves in front of their kids and pick fights in family restaurants? Sounds like a blast.

I can appreciate trying to stimulate some sympathy for cops who without question have a shytty job, but anyone spending any time around cops at all should readily recognize that it doesn't take much at all for them to resort to violence especially when they feel they aren't in control of the situation.

Its an ugly byproduct of their dangerous job and limited training.

Of course, it would go a long way of mitigating the natural tension between the cops and the governed if the instances of cops flying off the handle were dealt with properly instead of generally being whitewashed.

Cops are just as guilty (perhaps even more so) of an "us vs them" mentality as the allegedly hostile general public.

[ghporter]

Originally posted by MountainMac:
Most cops are awful shots, too.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you on that. At least they have to show that they won't injure themselves with the weapon on a regular basis.

In a lot of cases, cops actively try to avoid scoring well on their qualifications for fear that if they have to shoot somebody they'll get sued for being a "marksman" and targeting the deceased in some nefarious way. It's sad.

The last time I qualified on the 9mm pistol in the Air Force, there were a number of Security Forces (Air Force cops) folks in the class with me. I outshot every single one of them, as did one young lady who'd never touched a handgun before in her life. In this case I think the SF guys simply didn't want to work at doing better than qualifying. That's a bad mindset too.

[sugar_coated]

How much salad can a fully grown up man eat?

[ManOfSteal]

Originally posted by sugar_coated:
How much salad can a fully grown up man eat?

According to Google..roughly 6.7 lbs. worth in a single sitting!

[sugar_coated]

Originally posted by ManOfSteal:
According to Google..roughly 6.7 lbs. worth in a single sitting!

Thank you MOS! So the question is, why not let him enjoy his salad and avoid freaking the bejesuz out of all the kids there?

[deomacius]

This is worth repeating.

Originally posted by thunderous_funker:
Of course, it would go a long way of mitigating the natural tension between the cops and the governed if the instances of cops flying off the handle were dealt with properly instead of generally being whitewashed.

Cops are just as guilty (perhaps even more so) of an "us vs them" mentality as the allegedly hostile general public.

Originally posted by sideus:
Being a police officer is tremendously stressful. As an officer, you have to assume that the people around you may be a threat to you.

Then THEY should understand why I, as a civilian, must assume that THEY may be a threat to ME.

[olePigeon]

Christ, it's Chuck E. Cheese's. If the guy didn't eat the salad the roaches would.

[gumby5647]

wow. I haven't been in one of those places since they were called "Show Biz Pizza" or something to that effect...

[Cubeoid]

A shock is healthy every now and again. Also, it is known that children enjoy violence.

[BasketofPuppies]

Remember kids, after you incite a riot, attack a police officer, and refuse to move on your own free will forcing the officer to literally drag you away; claim police brutality.

[E's Lil Theorem]

Originally posted by Cubeoid:
<sugar_coated>A shock is healthy every now and again. Also, it is known that children enjoy violence. </sugar_coated>

Fixed�

[thunderous_funker]

Originally posted by BasketofPuppies:
Remember kids, after you incite a riot, attack a police officer, and refuse to move on your own free will forcing the officer to literally drag you away; claim police brutality.

You might want to re-read the article before embarassing yourself like this.

[BasketofPuppies]

Originally posted by thunderous_funker:
You might want to re-read the article before embarassing yourself like this.

It was just a general statement, based on what I've seen happen too many times.

Not related to the article. Just like the many general anti-police posts in this thread.

But if you insist...

Remember kids; after you attack a police officer who asks you for proof of ownership and he defends himself with his taser; claim police brutality.

[DeathMan]

Originally posted by thunderous_funker:
You might want to re-read the article before embarassing yourself like this.

So you honestly think a police officer is going to just out of nowhere shove a guy into a woman and a child, in a crowded restaurant? You honestly believe the woman who said the guy never touched the cops? I don't. I think the guy had it coming, and was a bad example for his kids. If he didn't want to show proof of purchase thats one thing, but when a cop asks you to come outside to discuss it, you don't put up a fuss.

You talk to the cops, tell them what's going on, and they leave. why is that so difficult?

[storer]

Even though i have no idea what it is, if I were Chucky Cheese I would sue for loss of profit. Parents would be afraid to take their kids there, and therefore they would lose some of their profit. Whether or not they would win is another matter entirely.