# Policeman pepper sprays pizza at traffic stop. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 3, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241 "2013-08-03T13:21:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/81 "2013-08-06T03:07:47Z")
According to following press release by the DA office, the officer was schedule to have been arraigned today. I had wondered why he would have blamed the officer instead of thinking it was the pizza place, and it looks like he was suspicious because of his interaction with the officer. One news report had also said that it wasn’t clear what exchanged had occurred between the officer and kid, which seems to support that perhaps words had been exchanged. In general, law enforcement agencies are not quick to support charges against their own. Not that it proves he did it, but I think there is more to the story than what people here are assuming. > [@](#): > > ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR PEPPER SPRAYING TEEN’S PIZZA DURING TRAFFIC STOP > > NEWPORT BEACH – An Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) deputy will be arraigned Monday for pepper spraying a teen’s pizza during a routine traffic stop. Juan Tavera, 30, is charged with one misdemeanor count of assault or battery by a public officer and faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail if convicted. Tavera is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, Aug. 5, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. in Department H-8, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach. > > At the time of the crime, Tavera was a 6-year veteran of the OCSD assigned to the South Operations Division/Contract City of Laguna Hills. Tavera is currently on paid administrative leave. > > On Sept. 8, 2012, the defendant is accused of arriving on-scene after 19-year-old John Doe was pulled over by a different officer for a traffic infraction in Laguna Hills. Upon arriving, the defendant is accused of finding a pizza on the backseat of the victim’s car and pepper spraying the pizza without the victim’s knowledge. > > John Doe later returned to his home and shared the pizza with four friends, causing all five to experience discomfort as a result of ingesting pepper spray. John Doe notified OCSD after becoming suspicious of his earlier interaction with the deputy. > > OCSD immediately investigated this case and forwarded it to the Orange County District Attorney for review. > > Senior Deputy District Attorney Brett Brian of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case. ETA: The arraignment was postponed to Aug 23. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/82 "2013-08-06T03:13:09Z")
Arraignment delayed to [August 23](http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/08/05/oc-deputy-to-be-arraigned-for-pepper-spraying-teens-pizza-during-traffic-stop/). Hopefully, we can get some more info then. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/83 "2013-08-06T06:10:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > There’s weird things about the story as written (as I have said) but this is definitely not one of them. It depends on the size of the pizza. When we were teenagers, four or five of us would split a 16"-18" pizza all the time (more the latter size usually.) Huh. When I was playing D&D, most of the gamers were teenage boys. There were generally six to eight of us, and we’d usually order 1 pizza for every two gamers. AND I served munchies at the games, as well, such as banana muffins and popcorn. Anyone who wanted chips had to bring his own bag. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/84 "2013-08-06T06:24:01Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Huh. When I was playing D&D, most of the gamers were teenage boys. There were generally six to eight of us, and we’d usually order 1 pizza for every two gamers. AND I served munchies at the games, as well, such as banana muffins and popcorn. Anyone who wanted chips had to bring his own bag. When I was a teen, four of us would split a large as I recall. It’s been a while. I certianly had more of an appetite than I have now but I still wouldn’t gorge myself. It’s served me well into middle age with a BMI in the low 20s and no obesity related health issues. Half a pizza each plus extra munchies and people would still bring extra snacks on top of that? Good god. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/85 "2013-08-06T07:11:29Z")
Even if you simply can’t believe that one pizza for every five people is reasonable portions, it doesn’t make the story implausible. The story just says he took it home and shared it with his four friends, and there’s no reason that can’t be true. Maybe he planned to share it with two others and a couple extra people showed up and he said, “hey, have a piece of pizza.” It’s utterly stupid to dismiss the story based on the argument that five people can’t share a pizza. The thing that makes the story implausible to me is that five separate people would eat a pepper-sprayed pizza and suffer ill effects without someone saying “hey, what the hell’s with this pizza?” or more likely “HOLY FUCK WHAT THE FUCK OW OW OW JESUS CHRIST DON’T EAT IT.” I find it hard to believe that five people were able to swallow pepper-spray-laden pizza before any effects were noticed. Pepper spray isn’t exactly a stealth burn. The pizza might have legitimately been intended for five people, but I assume they’re exaggerating for effect when they say five people got dosed with pepper spray. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/86 "2013-08-06T07:13:59Z")
One pizza for every two people? WTF, Lynn, how big were these pizzas? Unless you mean those little individual, pizzas with like, four pieces, that’s absurd. In fact, I feel queasy just thinking about it. Now granted, I can see buying more than one pizza, but it’s usually to have some for like, tomorrow or whatever. And it’s more like two mediums, or something. There’s four of us in my house, and there’s ALWAYS a lot left over. (And to think I felt bad for having one fucking piece of candy today. Christ.) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/87 "2013-08-06T07:44:47Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > When I was a teen, four of us would split a large as I recall. It’s been a while. I certianly had more of an appetite than I have now but I still wouldn’t gorge myself. It’s served me well into middle age with a BMI in the low 20s and no obesity related health issues. > > Half a pizza each plus extra munchies and people would still bring extra snacks on top of that? Good god. Let’s see, there were three adults, and 3-6 teen boys, ranging from 14 to 17, and one female gradeschooler (our daughter, didn’t play D&D, but did eat one slice of pizza). The adults and child would split one pizza, and the boys would would devour all the rest. The boys were all skinny as rakes, and I knew them for a period of around five years. They grew taller, but never seemed to gain weight. It’s possible that this particular set of teen boys was atypical, but they seemed to be mobile appetites. I don’t remember the exact size of the pizzas, we got whatever was on sale or we had a coupon for, if I didn’t make the meal. I usually cooked, because this was on an Air Force base and we’d have to go off base to get food. ---
**Author:** ![Oliveritaly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oliveritaly/32/15233_2.png) [@Oliveritaly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oliveritaly)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/88 "2013-08-06T07:51:52Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Let’s see, there were three adults, and 3-6 teen boys, ranging from 14 to 17, and one female gradeschooler (our daughter, didn’t play D&D, but did eat one slice of pizza). The adults and child would split one pizza, and the boys would would devour all the rest. The boys were all skinny as rakes, and I knew them for a period of around five years. They grew taller, but never seemed to gain weight. It’s possible that this particular set of teen boys was atypical, but they seemed to be mobile appetites. > > I don’t remember the exact size of the pizzas, we got whatever was on sale or we had a coupon for, if I didn’t make the meal. I usually cooked, because this was on an Air Force base and we’d have to go off base to get food. Gotta side with Lynn here. Teenagers have big appitites is news? Nothing about what she described seemed out of place to me, teenage boys like eat. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/89 "2013-08-06T08:29:15Z")
Teenage boys need significantly more calories than adult men, even if they have approximately the same activity levels. They have higher metabolic rates. A teen male will need between 2500 and 5000 Calories for a MAINTENANCE diet, depending on his activity level and whether he’s going through a growth spurt. If he’s actively trying to put on weight (mostly in the form of muscle), he’ll need more. The boys at our games were, as I said, skinny, and most of them were lifting weights and trying to develop some muscle. So yeah, the boys ate a lot, and that’s where I formed my opinion of male teen appetites. I also watched my husband and his brothers eat. Five of them were skinny, one was more normal sized, but he was an adult. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/90 "2013-08-06T08:38:10Z")
And yet it’s still utterly stupid to dismiss the story on the grounds that it is unbelievable that five teenagers could share a pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Oliveritaly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oliveritaly/32/15233_2.png) [@Oliveritaly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oliveritaly)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/91 "2013-08-06T08:41:23Z")
> [@spinky](#): > > And yet it’s still utterly stupid to dismiss the story on the grounds that it is unbelievable that five teenagers could share a pizza. Concur Spinky … they certainly could share one pizza but five teens eating 2 or even more pizzas wouldn’t surprise me either. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/92 "2013-08-06T09:13:44Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > One pizza for every two people? WTF, Lynn, how big were these pizzas? Unless you mean those little individual, pizzas with like, four pieces, that’s absurd. In fact, I feel queasy just thinking about it. > > Now granted, I can see buying more than one pizza, but it’s usually to have some for like, tomorrow or whatever. And it’s more like two mediums, or something. There’s four of us in my house, and there’s ALWAYS a lot left over. > > (And to think I felt bad for having one fucking piece of candy today. Christ.) I’m about 5’9" / 5’10", 160 pounds, normal for me would be a 10" pizza alone, or when hungry I have eaten a 13" alone before. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/93 "2013-08-06T12:23:33Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > I’m about 5’9" / 5’10", 160 pounds, normal for me would be a 10" pizza alone, or when hungry I have eaten a 13" alone before. You’re looking at around 1200 calories at least in the 10 inch. What are you, a swimmer or marathoner with a bad nutritionist? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/94 "2013-08-06T12:33:05Z")
> [@Oliveritaly](#): > > Concur Spinky … they certainly could share one pizza but five teens eating 2 or even more pizzas wouldn’t surprise me either. It all depends on whether the pizza was dinner or a snack. If it’s dinner, 1-2 slices per teen is pretty low, I would expect a teenage boy to pack away 3-4 slices without batting an eye. For a post-dinner snack while watching TV, it about fits my expectation. By pizza, I mean a large pizzeria style pizza, 16" cut into 8 slices. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/95 "2013-08-06T13:27:56Z")
> [@spinky](#): > > And yet it’s still utterly stupid to dismiss the story on the grounds that it is unbelievable that five teenagers could share a pizza. Exactly. I don’t disbelieve that teenagers can eat 1/2 or a whole pizza by themselves. Of course many can. I’ve certainly eaten a whole 10-12" inch pizza by myself well into adulthood. But, for us, it wasn’t really normal. If we’d buy pizza, we’d buy one pizza to split among four or five people, usually a 16" or sometimes an 18". I literally cannot remember ever being to a friend’s house hanging out with other friends where pizza was ordered for dinner to split among four or five or sometimes even six and there was more than one pizza. I don’t doubt it happens, but I don’t think it’s usual to order half a pizza per person, either. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/96 "2013-08-06T13:47:39Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > You’re looking at around 1200 calories at least in the 10 inch. What are you, a swimmer or marathoner with a bad nutritionist? Oh, let’s not exaggerate. 1200 calories may be high for a single meal (and pizza is probably not the best thing for you) but it’s not necessarily crazy high. If I have a light breakfast and lunch (~300-400 calories), I can polish off 1200 calories for dinner and still lose weight. (Oh, relevant info includes being 5’11" and 175 lbs., run on average 4 miles a day. Even without the running, I’d still be at least maintaining.) ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/97 "2013-08-06T13:49:50Z")
Boy, this discussion sure has taken a fascinating turn. I only wish I had recorded my own teenage pizza consumption statistics and those of my friends, so I had some hard evidence to contribute and wouldn’t have to rely on half-remembered anecdotes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/98 "2013-08-06T13:50:56Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Boy, this discussion sure has taken a fascinating turn. I only wish I had recorded my own teenage pizza consumption statistics and those of my friends, so I had some hard evidence to contribute and wouldn’t have to rely on half-remembered anecdotes. At the end of the day, all that matters for the purposes of the story is that it is not completely implausible, or even at all implausible, that five teens may share one pizza. In the questions raised by the story lacking in facts and journalistic input, how five teenagers split one pizza is not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/99 "2013-08-06T14:32:10Z")
The day just started where I live, so I guess we can enjoy a few more hours of wild speculation. Wouldn’t you need at least five pizzas to divide them evenly? Teenagers can’t do fractions. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/100 "2013-08-06T14:40:43Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Wouldn’t you need at least five pizzas to divide them evenly? Teenagers can’t do fractions. That does appear to be the case, given some of the logic displayed here. (And, of course, never mind that some places will [cut the pizza into 10 slices](http://www.insidefortlauderdale.com/photos/picassos_pizza.png) if you ask them to–although that pizzeria seems to do it as a standard cut. Even assuming an 8-slice pizza, it just ain’t that hard to figure out something.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241.md?page=6)