A California man is still demanding answers a month after an off-duty Buena Park police officer pulled a gun on him because he believed Arreola stole Mentos, reports The Orange County Register.
Forty-nine-year-old Jose Arreola went into a Chevron gas station March 16 to use the ATM. Arreola and his wife, Jacqueline, needed cash for a fun night on the town.
Security footage from the night of the incident showed Arreola hand cash to the store clerk. He then bent down to grab the Mentos his wife asked for moments prior to him entering the store. The officer, who has not yet been identified, walked in dressed in all-black athletic wear.
Viewers can see Arreola put his hand in his pocket after paying for the $1.19 mints. The office then takes out his handgun and orders the man to put down the mints. Arreola complies and throws up his hands. He tells the officer that he paid for the mints, but the officer insists that he didn't.
The officer can be heard telling Arreola to take his change and leave but leave the mints behind. Following the intense standoff, the officer asks the cashier if Arreola bought the mints. And the cashier replies with a yes.
“My apologies,” the officer tells Arreola.
“Are you seriously pulling a gun out over a pack of Mentos?” he asked.
The Orange County Register reports that Buena Park Sgt. Mike Lovchik declined to comment on the incident but said an internal investigation is currently underway. In a Facebook post, Chief Corey Sianez confirmed, “We were aware of this incident after it occurred, and we immediately began conducting an administrative investigation into the conduct of the officer involved.”
Arreola said that the officer's apologies are not enough because he still deals with the emotional stress from the incident.
“It’s been a month, and I still can’t shake it,” Arreola said. “It was traumatic, the whole incident. (And) I grew up in Santa Ana. I’ve been shot at before.”