Customer assaults store clerk with banana, causes $1K in damages before being arrested
A customer literally went bananas on a convenience store employee Tuesday morning, using the yellow fruit as an assault weapon and destroying $1,000 worth of store property.
The incident happened at 3 a.m. at a QuikTrip in Des Moines, Iowa, when the unidentified employee tried to intervene in a domestic dispute involving 26-year-old Rogelio Tapia, according to local news station KCCI. That’s when Tapia allegedly lashed out, chasing the clerk around the store and throwing various items at him, including the banana.
When police arrived at the scene, they ordered Tapia to get on the ground outside the store, but he refused to comply. Eventually, they had to tackle and handcuff Tapia, who continued to resist and even tried to kick one of the officers, according to the New York Post. They were able to arrest Tapia and charged him with assault on persons in certain occupations, assault, third-degree criminal mischief and interference with official acts.
Hats off to DMPD 1st Watch…they welcomed in 2019 by answering over 270 calls for service overnight! Thanks for weaving the security blanket we sleep under every night!The banana assault really happened…
Posted by Des Moines Police on Tuesday, January 1, 2019
The arresting officers were less than impressed with the fruity caper — which was one of 270 calls they responded to on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day — as evidenced by a meme posted on the Des Moines Police Department’s Facebook page on Jan. 1. In it, one of the officers is glaring at the camera with an expression that shows she’s over it. The meme reads, “That face you make when you’re sent to help a man being assaulted with a banana.”
The police added, “The banana assault really happened,” for anyone still skeptical about the slippery stunt.
According to police records, Tapia was released two hours after being booked, but the banana assault lives in infamy — especially for commenters on the DMPD’s Facebook page.
“Hats off to you doing the impossible every day, from the ridiculous to dealing with pure evil,” one wrote, while others were simply impressed that officers were able to deliver justice before the culprit could give them the slip.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
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