Body camera video shows how arrest of mascot at Florida Chuck E. Cheese went down

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – One woman is seen trying to shield children while others run away, with one child yelling, “Oh no!” as Tallahassee police officers place one Charles Entertainment Cheese, alias Chuck E. Cheese, in handcuffs in the middle of the arcade and pizza parlor bearing his name.

Or at least a man in a Chuck E. Cheese costume.

Police arrested Jermell Jones on July 24, an incident that soon went viral on social media.

News 6 obtained newly-released body camera video that showed how the arrest went down.

Jones’ is facing charges of credit card theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, and criminal use of false identification. He has since bonded out of jail.

At the time of the arrest, Jones was at work, playing the iconic mouse in the arcade. The video shows one woman trying to shield children while others ran away as the officers detained the masked man and put him in handcuffs.

“Chuck E., come with me Chuck E.,” a police officer in Tallahassee told the suspect, “stop resisting, you are being detained.”

After an officer explained the situation to a manager, a woman yelled at him for arresting Mr. Cheese in the middle of the arcade, accusing them of traumatizing the children.

“Would y’all put handcuffs on Mickey Mouse?” she shouted after them.

Once outside, the officer takes the mouse head off the mascot, revealing the man inside. The mouse head is placed on the top of the police vehicle.

“I’m working, you know, I’m just doing my job,” the man identified as Jones said as officers searched him. “What the is this about?”

Jones is heard on the camera protesting his innocence and worrying that he is going to lose his job.

The officers then help Jones out of the costume and return it to the store’s manager.

Police say a woman reported her Visa debit card missing in late June. The woman told them she last saw the card inside the Chuck E. Cheese, and charges appeared after for a smoke shop, a grocery store and a Whataburger.

Police records show the woman saw surveillance footage at the grocery store and identified Jones as the suspect.

Police checked to make sure Jones was working at the Chuck E. Cheese. When they came back to make the arrest, he was already in the costume. They say they found the victim’s credit card in Jones’ pocket.

While one officer put Jones in the vehicle and read him his rights, there was a conversation between two other officers.

“The parents had beef with me for detaining Chuck E. Cheese,” one officer said to another in the video.

“Too bad,” the other officer said.