JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) - A father is asking Toys "R" Us Inc. to take a police toy set off the shelves because he says the one given to his 6-year-old son utters a curse word. The toy set, named the "Elite Operations Role Play Set: Police," includes a nightstick and a utility belt. A recorded message that includes what sounds like a curse word plays when the nightstick is removed from the belt.
"I've had to explain to parents why my son is saying the f-word; it's horrible," Philip Morton told The Daily News of Jacksonville. "It's really a cute little toy; but God forbid, it's not what I want my kid hearing."
Morton told The Associated Press that he returned the toy to the Geoffrey store where he bought it and played it for store managers, who agreed to give him a new set. Toys "R" Us owns Geoffrey.
Kathleen Waugh, a spokeswoman for Toys "R" Us, said that only two complaints have been made to the retailer about the set. In response to the first customer complaint made earlier this year, the retailer tested the recording and found nothing wrong. Still, the chip was re- recorded. In response to the second complaint, Toys "R" Us tested the police officer toys but didn't find a problem.
"It must have been a faulty chip," she said.
Jerry Gibson, president of TekNek Toys International L.P., of Southlake, Texas, provided The AP with a copy of the source file for the recording, which says "Stop, I don't want to have to pull out my nightstick."
"We've shipped over 30,000 of these toys," Gibson said. "We would never, as a toy company making toys for children in this age range, or any toy for that matter, use inappropriate language."
