An off-duty police officer in Orange County, Calif. pulled his gun on a man at convenience store because the officer thought he was stealing a pack of Mentos, according to the Orange County Register .
Jose Arreola, 49, walked into a Chevron gas station in Buena Park to use the ATM and buy a pack of Mentos for his wife on March 16 when he was accused of stealing the mints by a man behind him in line, who was an off-duty police officer with a gun in his pocket.
In surveillance video of the incident, which seems to have been released recently, Arreola can be seen picking up the Mentos and handing the cashier money for the pack of mints, which cost $1.19, before the off-duty police officer gets in line behind him. As Arreola pockets the mints, the police officer says “Put that back, I’m a police officer,” and pulls out his gun .
The officer’s index finger is not on the trigger, but the gun is pointed in Arreola’s direction. Arreola tells him “I paid for this,” but the police officer repeatedly tells him to put the pack of mints back.
A message from our Chief of Police:
In an effort to be transparent, I am sharing an article with you that was in the OC Register today regarding an off-duty incident that occurred involving one of our police officers. The video of the incident clearly shows our officer drawing his gun, but not pointing it, at a subject he allegedly believed was committing a theft inside the mini-mart of a Chevron gas station in Buena Park. We were aware of this incident after it occurred and we immediately began conducting an administrative investigation into the conduct of the officer involved. The complainant also filed a formal complaint against the officer alleging misconduct and also retained an attorney. I want you to know that after I watched the video I found it to be disturbing, as I’m sure it was to you. However, because there is an ongoing personnel investigation and potential litigation pending against the city, I am unable to discuss the details of our investigation. I can definitely assure you that our investigation will be thorough and if the officer is found to be in violation of any policies and procedures, he will be held accountable. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
I don't think it would be too far fetched to fire this cop and make an example out of him.
That is the only proper response. They need to make sure that the cop doesn't go to work for another department after he is fired because he does not possess the psychological profile to be a cop.
Threatening to shoot someone for a $1.20 is insane.
WTH was the cop thinking...
Being a big man.
'Thinking' is the key word, obviously he wasn't thinking. And I agree with John-he needs to be fired.
Good thing he didn't mistake the mints for a gun and shoot the guy. We need WAY higher standards for police officers; a psychology degree for starters.
Or at least a full psych eval prior to hiring.
I don't think it is inappropriate for the Police Officer to ask if the merchandise was paid for. Drawing his gun from his hoodie jacket pocket was certainly not necessary and kind of a dick move.
Just another avoidable and awkward situation that could have easily been averted with good training and by asking questions first BEFORE accusing the customer and ordering him out of the store.
This is a teachable moment.
show the badge, was not necessary to pull the gun and what if clerk thought this was start of a robbery
He saw the customer grab the mints off of the counter, but why did the cop miss the clerk giving the man his change after he closed the register drawer? The very fact that he gave the customer his change is proof that the Mentos were not stolen. The cop obviously only saw or recognized half of the clerk-customer interaction before pulling out his sidearm. He should have been able to understand that the clerk was not upset or alarmed so it obviously wasn't a robbery.
Cop might've thought he was paying for something else, while palming the mentos into his pocket. That being said, the cop way overreacted and never should have pulled his gun.
That is not sufficient evidence to pull a weapon. The cop could see that the clerk wasn't upset so why did he think that a crime had been committed? The store clerk would be the first to know so the cop should have followed his lead.
Cops need to be blood tested for steroids because it makes them too aggressive. They also need an IQ test and to take the MMPI on a regular basis. When they have the power of arrest and to kill people without authorization there need to be more accontability of the people who get to wear a badge.
If I had my way I would do the same for concealed carry permits. People with a low IQ, have drug problems and mental health disorders should not be given the right to carry a firearm in public because they do not make good split-second decisions.
If you want to hunt or target shoot that is different because fewer people are involved, but to carry a loaded weapon in crowded public situations needs to meet a higher bar.
It would seem that this cop has the same problem as Tackleberry.
I guess they are now training police to believe that human life is worth less than $1.19.
Normally you would wonder why the clerk didnt speak up , but he was probably scared too.
Well another example of the police getting caught. And sadly this man will be dealing with this for a long time but the cop will go and laugh it off and his type of cop buddies will high five him and the brass will give him the slap on the wrist and down the road this cop will have a use of force issue that might end up with someone shot.
so hopefully a good supervisor will say this is was a hint in to this cops mentality and get rid of him. and yet minus video this story would have went a different way. thank god for video!!