Off-Duty California Cop Pulls Gun on Guy Buying Mentos

originally posted by: rexsblues
This sounds like a spoof of mentos commercial;

Dodododo dodo dowaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...

Just as the cop draws his gun, the dude turns around and flicks a mentos in his face, the cop laughs as the scene pauses back to the dude with the mentos... 'mentos, the fresh maker'.

Lmfao!!!

The man had given the clerk money. It's paid for, he can put it in his pocket. Just because many wait for a bag or put their money up first doesn't make it wrong or overly odd. It's a pocket size item.

Unless the guy was handling the Mentos like a gun against a hostage... like Charlie Sheen's character did with a Butterfinger in this classic from 1994 - The Chase...

...the cop is a grade A idiot!

a reply to: roadgravel

Correct. I often start to pack my stuff away while it´s coming over the counter and is scanned or typed. Otherwise everyone has to wait until I paid and packed my stuff together.

It´s not like he walked out, he put the money on the table so he paid. Technically (at least here), you have to pass the counter and try to leave without paying something, only then it´s theft.

The guy did nothing wrong, not in the least.

Curses, the mentos bandit strikes again!

a reply to: verschickter

Seem the cop is observing some of time but misses the original part of the sale. He just concludes it is shop lifting.

Wonder it that happens often with him.

originally posted by: roadgravel
Wonder it that happens often with him.

Hopefully it doesn't happen at his new job either.

a reply to: Spider879

One minute, Jose Arreola was buying a pack of Mentos at an Orange County service station.

The next minute, he was at the business end of a gun

That is false. The gun was never pointed at him. Why do cop haters always have to exaggerate?

a reply to: Spider879

My apologies lol.

Yea suck my $$$$$ you jackass.

Im sure we will hear how they have investigated this matter and found he did nothing wrong..

originally posted by: Bone75
a reply to: Spider879

One minute, Jose Arreola was buying a pack of Mentos at an Orange County service station.

The next minute, he was at the business end of a gun

That is false. The gun was never pointed at him. Why do cop haters always have to exaggerate?

So this was normal to you pull a gun over some mentos?

Double post..

Sometimes cops just suck.

a reply to: Spider879

The LEO obviously made a piss-poor decision, and probably shouldn't be a police officer, but at least all things ended okay (physically speaking).

I absolutely think that Mr. Arreola's fears are founded--if anything, all the LEO should have done to initiate the dialogue was to ask the guy if he paid for the candy that he put in his pocket. If Mr. Arreola had said 'yes,' the LEO could have said something like, "Okay, I'm a police officer and I was just ensuring that you did take it without paying."

Or, better yet, the officer could have just assumed that, since the guy was buying other stuff and getting change back, he wouldn't feel the need to be stealing a pack of Mentos.

This absolutely brings the officer's judgment and approach to policing into question, IMO--he did his steps bass-ackwards in this situation, waiting until the very end to ask the cashier if Arreola had paid, and basically brandishing a weapon first.

At least he didn't hold the guy at gun point or anything worse, and everyone walked away, but damn, talk about needing to look up a YouTube video on how to de-escalate situations...

originally posted by: notsure1

originally posted by: Bone75
a reply to: Spider879

One minute, Jose Arreola was buying a pack of Mentos at an Orange County service station.

The next minute, he was at the business end of a gun

That is false. The gun was never pointed at him. Why do cop haters always have to exaggerate?

So this was normal to you pull a gun over some mentos?

Why are you deflecting to asking about "normalcy" when someone points out a false claim in the story obviously used to hyperbolize the situation for the readers? Bone75's comment had nothing to do with how he felt about the officer pulling the gun.

His gun is pointed somewhat downward but still in the man's direction. It is displaying a show a deadly force.

It's a BS move.

originally posted by: Bone75
a reply to: Spider879

One minute, Jose Arreola was buying a pack of Mentos at an Orange County service station.

The next minute, he was at the business end of a gun

That is false. The gun was never pointed at him. Why do cop haters always have to exaggerate?

Oh man, sorry the cop wasn't holding it to his head, he still, nonetheless, flagged him, which is just as bad.

originally posted by: SlapMonkey

originally posted by: notsure1

originally posted by: Bone75
a reply to: Spider879

One minute, Jose Arreola was buying a pack of Mentos at an Orange County service station.

The next minute, he was at the business end of a gun

That is false. The gun was never pointed at him. Why do cop haters always have to exaggerate?

So this was normal to you pull a gun over some mentos?

Why are you deflecting to asking about "normalcy" when someone points out a false claim in the story obviously used to hyperbolize the situation for the readers? Bone75's comment had nothing to do with how he felt about the officer pulling the gun.

Now you want to argue semantics "the gun was never actually aimed at him" Well I say from 2 feet away it was aimed at him.

He should be fired and charged with a crime.

originally posted by: Bone75
a reply to: Spider879

One minute, Jose Arreola was buying a pack of Mentos at an Orange County service station.

The next minute, he was at the business end of a gun

That is false. The gun was never pointed at him. Why do cop haters always have to exaggerate?

Perhaps because pulling a gun on an accused shop lifter is a gross exaggeration in and of itself.

originally posted by: notsure1

originally posted by: Bone75
a reply to: Spider879

One minute, Jose Arreola was buying a pack of Mentos at an Orange County service station.

The next minute, he was at the business end of a gun

That is false. The gun was never pointed at him. Why do cop haters always have to exaggerate?

So this was normal to you pull a gun over some mentos?

Absolutely not, but the statement is still an exaggeration.

originally posted by: SlapMonkey

Why are you deflecting to asking about "normalcy" when someone points out a false claim in the story obviously used to hyperbolize the situation for the readers? Bone75's comment had nothing to do with how he felt about the officer pulling the gun.

Thanks. You took the words right out of my fingers.

Objectivity gets no love around here.

For those who want to argue about whether or not the cop had his gun aimed at the man,

What would any cop in uniform have done if the gun was being pulled out of the jacket of a non-cop?

They would have drawn an fired their weapon until it was empty or the man quit twitching, whichever came first.

The drawn weapon represents a threat.
Judging from the video, it was pointing at the man.