A CHILDREN’S party at a Chuck E. Cheese came to an abrupt and shocking end when cops burst in to arrest the rodent mascot.
The bizarre moment has gone viral with footage showing the moment Tallahassee Police Department officers in Florida put the mouse in cuffs.
He was led out of the restaurant in shame as shocked families looked on moments after he had been handing out high-fives to excited children.
One officer was overheard saying, “Chuck E, come with me, Chuck E,” while holding the mascot’s arm.
Only upon arriving at the police vehicle was the arrested individual revealed, leaving the large gray Chuck E. Cheese headpiece on the squad car.
He could even be seen still wearing the furry mouse hands while in cuffs.
The part-time Chuck E. Cheese employee was later identified as Jermell Jones, 41, who has been charged with credit card fraud and theft.
The police responded to the restaurant following a call from a woman who reported attending a party there the previous month and subsequently noticing $100 in unauthorized charges on her card.
The victim told cops she could trace the card activity to a worker from the diner.
The authorities determined the suspect to be an employee responsible for stamp checks. However, when they came to detain him, a colleague informed them that he had changed attire and was currently in the mascot costume.
Police spokesperson Alicia Hill has spoken out about the bizarre arrest after officers were criticised for arresting the suspect, in full costume and in front of horrified children.
“Ok, Tallahassee Police Department, y’all couldn’t let this man change out of his Chuck E. Cheese costume before arresting him in front of those kids?” one Facebook user wrote in a post about the arrest.
“Could they not catch him leaving after his shift in plain clothes?” another said.
“That’s a little unsettling for the kiddos.”
But Hill detailed how officers had initially hoped to make the arrest without causing a scene, but the man behind the mask had a different idea.
“They walked over with the intention of just walking outside to put handcuffs on him outside of public view,” Hill told the Tallahassee Democrat.
However, the suspect was resisting arrest, meaning the officers had to take further action.
“When they approached him, he immediately tenses up and resists, and so at this point they make the decision to put him in handcuffs, keeping in mind the safety of not only the customers, but the suspect, as well as the officers themselves,” Hill added.
“It is unfortunate that the person who is the subject of this investigation and who we had probable cause on happened to be in a suit and in costume.”
The Police Department also confirmed that the stolen credit card was found on his person during the arrest on July 23.
“We have taken the appropriate action concerning the subject employee,” Chuck E. Cheese’s parent company CEC Entertainment told the Democrat.
Jones faces three felony charges of credit card theft, criminal use of personal identification information, and credit card fraud committed over two times within six months.
He has been released on a $1,000 bond from the Leon County Jail.
