The father with two kids who tried to stiff the Northridge Claim Jumper last Thursday night sure picked the wrong night at the wrong place to walk out on his bill. Working the restaurant that night were two dozen off-duty law enforcement types — LAPD, CHP, FBI — and City Councilman Dennis Zine, a reserve LAPD officer. They were there for the annual Tip-A-Cop fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Eric Rose picks up the narrative:

As I began to clean the table after a gentleman and his two kids left the restaurant, I asked the waitress if the patron had left a tip for the Special Olympics. The waitress opened the bill on the table and found that the very nice man she had been serving left the restaurant without paying his nearly $100 bill. Quickly, I notified several other LAPD officers of the incident, gave a description of the patron/suspect and we immediately searched the parking lot. We located the guest in the parking lot and immediately escorted the patron back into the Claim Jumper where he explained that he “just forgot to pay the bill” and that he hoped he would not be arrested. He promptly paid the bill, left a modest tip to the waitress and apologized profusely for leaving without paying.

I'll bet he did.