“Chuck E., No!”: Cops finally drop extended footage of Chuck E. Cheese mascot arrest

Tallahassee police have released new body camera footage from the July arrest of a Chuck E. Cheese mascot, reviving one of the year’s strangest viral moments. The extended clips show officers cuffing 41-year-old Jermel Jones in full costume as children cried and parents pleaded with police to wait until after the party.

“Would y’all put Mickey Mouse in handcuffs?”

Tallahassee police finally released the bodycam footage from the arrest of Jones, accused of credit card theft, as he worked in his Chuck E. Cheese costume. The videos went viral across X on Tuesday as people recalled one of the more bizarre arrests in recent memory.

The new footage adds yet more entertaining details to the drama. First of all, now we know that the decision to detain the mouse in front of the children was made on the spot.

“You want me to cuff him in front of the kids?” one officer asked.

“Yeah,” said another.

The next funny part came just after one parent asked the mascot for a photo as the cops approached.

“Chuck E.’s a little bit busy, ma’am,” says an officer right before they arrest him.

As they lead the suspect outside, children and parents look on in horror. One kid is particularly dramatic about it.

“Chuck E., no!” they wailed.

Extended footage of the aftermath obtained by Mediaite shows a mother strongly objecting to how the officers conducted the arrest.

“He’s a criminal, what would you like to know?” the cop asked her.

“I’d like y’all to walk him out the door instead of traumatizing all these children seeing someone like Chuck E. Cheese get arrested,” she responded. “Would y’all put Mickey Mouse in handcuffs?”

People remain on Chuck E.’s side

The decision to arrest a man in a mascot suit on the spot instead of waiting for him to get off work may have been all the more unwise during a time of increased scrutiny on police conduct. People continue to wonder about the impact on the kids who happened to be there that day.

One X account, ironically named @MicxeyMouse, didn’t mince words.

“You know what… this traumatized the heck out of those kids,” they said. “The cops could have waited a few minutes until he finished that birthday celebration. Seriously, cops in this country are the biggest scumbags.”

“Police: ‘Do not cause a scene here, sir,’” wrote @ucf4lyfe. “Also Police: Arrest Charles Entertainment Cheese in costume in front of children, causing scene.”

Another user honed in on the audibly distraught child.

“This little boy probably became radicalized af after seeing this lol,” @2forme2for_u pointed out. “Bro gone use his show and tell time to speak on defunding the police.”

“Unless Chuck E Cheese was a chomo, I see no reason to do this in front of kids,” said @mynoriti.