UA Area Feb. 15, 2:16 p.m.
A man screamed as if he wanted to be pepper-sprayed after he made a big scene in a local market over a burrito he'd ordered, according to a University of Arizona Police Department report.
The manager of Highland Market, 525 N. Highland Ave., called UA officers because a customer who'd ordered a burrito was leaning too hard on the deli glass—which was breakable—and he wouldn't stop. When asked to leave, the manager said, the customer refused—instead starting to scream and actually pushing the manager—so security had to escort him out. Even then, the man reportedly kept trying to re-enter.
Officers encountered him at a table outside, apparently now in a joking mood—even while he seemed to anticipate police violence: "Just pepper-spray me!" he shouted (almost jovially) upon seeing them. "I'm getting pepper-sprayed for ordering a burrito!"
The arresting officer said he just needed the subject to calm down and explain things. But in response, the man (with watery eyes and booze-smelling breath) just kept repeating that he hadn't gotten the burrito he'd ordered because he'd been kicked out. He had many mood swings during his interactions with officers, ranging from happy and cooperative to crying and angry.
He was jailed on several charges, including public intoxication, and never got his burrito.
