Man chokes cashier for putting chips and canned goods in same grocery bag

A Pennsylvania man lost his cool over how a store clerk was bagging his groceries, choking the cashier for putting potato chips and canned goods in the same bag, police said.

According to Fairview Township Police, Bradley Bower was shopping with his wife at a Giant Food Store on Feb. 2 when he allegedly attacked the cashier for the way the clerk was handling his groceries.

Police noted in a criminal complaint that Bower explained to officers he had asked the clerk not to “throw his groceries around.” The man said he had several bags of chips and “didn’t want them to get all smashed up.”

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Bower told police the cashier then proceeded to place the chips in the same bag as the canned goods the man had purchased, and the clerk was “smashing the chips.” The man said he asked the cashier to stop bagging his items in that manner.

The victim told police Bower had paid for his groceries and while he was walking away he turned and asked him: “Do you have a problem with me? Because I have a problem with you.”

The victim told officers he thought Bower was kidding and replied to the man: “Do you?”

That’s when police said Bower attacked the cashier, grabbing him around the neck and shoving the clerk against the cash register, while calling the victim an “idiot.” The clerk was able to push Bower away while a manager called police.

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According to the police report, Bower told officers he knew he was in the wrong and was having a bad day and “this issue with the chips just sent him over the edge.”

The man was charged with simple assault. Next time, he might consider Pringles.