Save receipts: Man 'Tasered' for salad theft paid after all

[EC]

August 18, 2005

AURORA, Colo. -- A man who was hit with a Taser gun after police accused him of stealing a salad from a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant has reached a deal with the city.

Danon Gale, 29, will drop his $500,000 civil-rights lawsuit in exchange for prosecutors dropping five of six charges. He pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace. The city will pay his legal and medical bills, but Gale still faces a fine. ''I was wrongfully arrested, beat up, Tasered, and now a $500 fine,'' he said.

Police used a Taser on Gale in front of his children in February after employees said he tried to eat at the salad bar without paying. The investigation found Gale did pay for the salad, and the city apologized.

Dick Huston, executive vice president of CEC Entertainment, which owns Chuck E. Cheese, said Gale used the wrong plate at the salad bar and refused to provide a receipt. AP



Wow, better make sure you use THE RIGHT PLATE AND KEEP YOUR RECEIPT!!!

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Yikes!

[tk2kewl]

2. I don't get it? Why drop the suit?

:shrug:

[skypilot]

That's what I was thinking.

I'd pay the $500.00 fine when I got my $500,000 settlement. I wouldn't drop a damned thing. And what the hell is the "wrong plate"?

[H5N1]

8. Perhaps he used the 'all you can eat plate'!

Maybe he paid for a single trip and used the 'all you can plate'
by mistake. Anyway you slice the pie: He's in the money.

[skypilot]

13. I thought...

...that maybe he'd brought a plate from home.:)

[jayfish]

6. I Suspect That Chuck E. Cheese Might be A Bigger Fish To Fry.

More money. As for the guy still having to pay a fine? You guess is as good as mine.

Jay

[BattyDem]

3. WTF???

Why would you Taser somebody for this particular crime? I know he didn't do it, but even if he did, WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU TASER THE GUY OVER A SALAD??? What happened Officer ... did he make a sudden move toward the croutons? :eyes: :grr:

[KansDem]

15. "...did he make a sudden move toward the croutons?"

Maybe he went after the cop with a breadstick.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. Hey, he USED THE WRONG PLATE!

It is his fault. He deserves all that he gets. I'd say throw him into Gitmo without a Koran.

[mtnester]

5. So, how much will Chuck E. Cheese be paying him?

Hope it is enough for him to retire and go out on the trail against asswipes that taser on a WHIM.

[0007]

7. This guy was a fool to drop the lawsuit in exchange for dropping

the charges. He just flushed a half a mill down the toilet.

Screw Chuck E. Cheese.....

[jobycom]

9. Wow. Sounds like a Monty Python sketch

Not so funny in real life.

Take those damned tasers away from the cops. When they first came out, the tasers were supposed to be an alternative to shooting. You were supposed to use a taser only in a situation where you would have otherwised use a gun. Now they use them as practical jokes.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Thanks, E C, for posting this. Thank God they found the evidence

which cleared him.

I hope Chuck E. Cheese's business at that location simply disappears overnight. They've got it coming.

[EC]

16. I'm thinking he'll sue them out of existance

It's good he dropped the suit against the state, but I think the cop who used the TASER should be dumped, he certainly over-reacted and doesn't belong on the police force.

[Shakespeare]

11. He's an IDIOT for dropping his civil suit!

Sounds like he needs a better attorney.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. The Wrong Plate?

You can get in trouble in a restaurant for using the wrong plate to take something off a salad bar even if you've paid for it? This is the dumbest thing i've ever heard.
The Professor

[Generic Other]

14. So would they taser a kid for running around like a wild hooligan?

Yeah, probably. Gack.

[Ms. Clio]

17. Thanks for the update! This case was discussed extensively here

And since it happened, dozens of people have died after being tasered. This guy could very easily have been one of them.

The attitude of that exec VP, Huston, is simply unbelievably arrogant and infuriating. Not that I ever would eat there to begin with, but this certainly cements my determination to never set foot in a Chuck E. Cheese as long as I live.