Posted on 03/01/2005 11:04:12 AM PST by socal_parrot
AURORA, Colo. -- Aurora police are reviewing 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.
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.
"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 Mayor'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 with 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.
You are right... There are good law enforcement officers and bad ones, just like there are good and bad in every other profession and group. I also come from a law enforcement family and agree with your statement above up to the "This guy sounds like..." part. Stay with me on this for a moment...
Remember that there truly are two sides to every story. This one was a news story from "The Denver Channel"... Why are news programs/papers produced? The money derived from the advertisers... What causes people to view news stories (more viewers=higher advertising income)? Controversy... What is one of the most controversial subjects right now where law enforcement is involved? Tasers. Could be that this story made it to the public eye simply because a Taser was involved... Could be that the story was spun a bit to make it more controversial. Could be that the incident was much worse that what was printed and truly does deserve to be discussed in a public forum. Only those that witnessed the incident really know what happened. Do we really get both complete sides of the story from the news? Think about Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, and Tom Brokaw before you answer...
In this case we have a police spokesperson telling their side, and a "witness" stating a different version. Which side is telling the truth? None of us really know... LEO's, the arrestee, the witness, all, none of them?
I've heard a LEO brag about kicking a handcuffed man until his left leg got tired, so he had to switch to his right. (Sickening.) I've also heard people say that all LEO's are crooks, and they base that on the fact that they are continually arrested on DUI's to which they plead guilty in front of the judge due to the video evidence against them. They don't like LEO's because the LEO's do their job and cause the lawbreaker to suffer for the lawbreaker's poor judgment. What we do know is that there are good and bad LEO's out there, and there are people out there that lack any common sense continuously getting into trouble. Which was it in this case? The article doesn't give enough information... and if it did, was the article truthful? Was it spun one way or the other? It is for that reason, that I will just read it and take it at face value.
BTW... It is common practice when arresting a parent or guardian (provided no other parent or guardian is on the scene to take custody of the children) for the police to contact family or a trusted friend of the arrestee to have them come to the scene and take custody of the children. The article states that the children were picked up by a relative... Not that the police hauled off their dad and abandoned them.
In this day and age of people labeling all LEO's as jack booted thugs, I think we all need to make sure that we take into account strictly the information provided and have a discussion. Speculation can run rampant and skew the discussion to the point that continuance is a waste of time.
Regards,
Raven6
Of course,then this roid head cop would then charge him with child neglect.
Cops like this one reflect badly on the 10% who are decent.
"Either arrest the guy for suspicion of theft, or leave him the hell alone."
I think that's what they did. They arrested him. Besides, cops just don't shove people down in front of a crowd at Chuckie Cheese's. If the guy thought the cops did wrong, he should have gone along with them and taken the matter up later. By refusing to walk outside, he effectively resisted arrest.
From henceforth and throughout the realm, King TrailerBilly Badfreeass has declared that since Hillary shills children to further her liberal agenda, therefore no one is to be allowed to express any valid concern for them.
Thanks for the laugh.
Another case comes top mind. My ex sister in law was trying to tend to her baby and drive at the same time and wound up running a red light and hitting a police car. The cop said oh don't worry. It was an accident and I'll take care of it. Well he did and then proceeded to follow her around and try to get something going with her. Her husband sent her to the store and then followed and watched and sure enough, here came the cop. My Brother in law filmed the whole thing and threatened to turn it over to the department if he didn't knock it off. He never bothered her again.
Dan,
I think the taser probably saves a lot of lives and prevents broken bones and severe beatings. Think about it. If the cops do not have tasers in their arsenal then to control somebody who is becoming confrontational they must resort to their club. If you are a 125 lb. female officer confronting a 260 lb. drunk in a bar you might feel a club is inadequate and resort to using your gun. Now, if I were a roudy drunk I think I would prefer being tasered rather than beaten or shot. JMHO.
Partial omission and subjective editing of quotes is what's wrong with the media today.
Zapped him in the garbonzos ping.
Nothing worse than numb garbonzos!
Although an afternoon at a crowded Chuck E. Cheese sounds almost as bad!
The usual anti-cop hystericals wailed that the poor man "was killed by the police simply because he was speeding."
Not all of them, but yes, some of them are.
I just have to tell this. Here in my hometown, an entire family was arrested and the father tased. One of the sons observed an officer speeding and followed him to see where he was going. The officer pulled in a fast food joint and started in. The young man informed him that he had been speeding. The cop arrested him and he called his mother who came to the scene with the young mans teen aged brother. The officer began verbally assaulting the mother and poking his finger in her chest so the teen began to yell at the cop to stop hitting his mother. He arrested all 3 and hauled them off to jail. The father was then called and he came out to the jail and wanted to know what in the heck was going on. He was tased and arrested, too.
Yep, just use a gun and get it over with. / sarcasm>
LOL. At least they all got arrested as a family
Does one pay first and then get a plate or is one expected to pay at the end of the line?
Yep. Thats definitely doing things together as a family. They were a very well respected local family, though, and they had the charges dismissed and the cop wound up looking like a fool. He was speeding and got offended by someone telling him so. He should have just told the kid to mind his own business but he used his status as a cop to get revenge.
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