Wasn't trolling. Just looking for the opinions. You'll note I didn't express mine at all.

So I will ask this question. If the punishment should fit the crime, do you think the potential punishment here fits this crime? Do you honestly think the window worker felt "terrorized" or fearful I'm Amy way when this happened? That is the states standard for third degree assault according to the article. Would you have felt afraid? Or just pissed off?

similarly, a man is facing assault charges after his neighbor flattened his snowman repeatedly. Should not he be able to claim he was being terrorized and just defended himself by punching the asshole in the face?

Just a few things to think about when we discuss these kinds of situations.

"I'm Amy"

Really? I thought Draugnar was a dude. Whatever. Nice to meet you, Amy. Welcome to webdip.

Anyhoo, yes, if some total stranger skulked up on me while I was at work and shot me with a nerf gun, I would feel terrorized or fearful for the second or two it took me to figure out what was happening. The charges are (for once) entirely appropriate to the crime - a weekend in jail and a fine of a few hundred dollars sounds just about right to me.

Sounds like a stupid, but ultimately harmless, prank to me. I'd fine them $100 (to be paid directly to the worker) and ban them from the establishment for a month. Imprisonment for any amount of time seems wildly unnecessary.

^Hear, hear

They are idiots - this is harassment - and it seems reasonable to arrest and fine them, as PE says. Jail is going a bit far.

Welcome to webdip by the way, Amy.

Good lord....seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you people. It's a god-damned NERF "gun". Nobody was harmed. A moment of "terror"....and then everybody in the place of business laughed their ASSES off for the rest of the night.

What sort of pussy-fied world do we live in anymore. call a Libtard a mean name anymore and they want you be-headed.

A good stern talking to and a warning to the people is more than sufficient. God-damned WASTE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES is what this is.

Wow...you know, I once brought fake dog poo into the office as a practical joke...actually caught a couple people off guard too...I suppose I should be brought up on bio-terrorism charges...

And it isn't "harassment"....it was a ONE TIME event. Pussy.

Come on guys, this was obviously the nerf gun's fault.

Then there are the schools that use assault charges against children in lieu of discipline.

“The Nerf dart strikes her. Nobody was injured in this case but if it hits an eye or something an injury could result from this,” said St. Louis County Police Officer Brian Schellman.

I liked this quote,

Is it just me or is this officer really saying

"Sure, it's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye"

krellin is right. We are witnessing the pussification of America.

Seriously? ASSAULT charges for a Nerf gun? As PE pointed out, a more appropriate punishment (if the "victim" STILL maintains a NUCLEAR overreaction) would a double-digit fine paid directly to the worker and banishment from the establishment for a month.

Don't overreact to the word 'assault.' It's a minor misdemeanor, not a serious charge. The restaurant could have filed for trespassing in this situation, and they have every right to sue the offenders. This is an act of violence even if no one got hurt. If someone just walked into your place of work and fired what could be used as a weapon at you, wouldn't you do the same? The only pussies here are the people who are willing to defend a couple's immature behavior. If they weren't adults, the charges would be ridiculous, but it's ridiculous to think that this kind of thing should go unpunished. The judge will go easy on them, anyway, but I'll be happy to know that they probably won't be doing this again.

It should be punished. But the question is, did they get charged with 3rd degree misdemeanor assault (5 to 30 days in jail) or with felony 3rd degree assault. The story doesn't make that clear and both exist.

4th paragraph, Druag.
"Stephanie Winkler and 26-year-old Mark Applebaum are facing third-degree assault charges, a class C misdemeanor."
That answers that, right? I want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding anything...

Nope, you got it right. I overlooked the Class C misdemeanor part. My bad.

I still question the "fear" aspect they charged them under and the claim that it could put out an eye... Why are they sold to kids without parental oversight (unlike pellet and BB guns, which require an adult to actual make the purchase) if they are so dangerous?

Normally I'd agree with Krellin in this case because it is just stupid example of the pussification of America. Unfortunately, even though it was a nerf gun and nobody was injured, I think there MUST be some kind of punishment (not jail time, just maybe a disorderly and fine) in order to set judicial precedent. If the judge dismisses the case or says that nothing malicious was done, then it opens the door for people to harrass perfect strangers without any sort of recourse. If they were friends, it would be a different case but let's face it.. we don't want to live in a world where it is considered legal to commit drive-by nerf attacks. Sounds funny, but you must respect people's personal space, even those without a sense of humor.

"This is an act of violence even if no one got hurt."

You fucking idiot...it was NOT an act of violence. Good lord...stupid pussy.

"I think there MUST be some kind of punishment"

No...actually NO, there doesn't *HAVE* to be punishment. There *has* to be a quick conversation by a reasonalbe, sensible police officer that tells the pussy that got shot to get the fuck over it, and then a quick conversation WARNING the perps that if they do it again, charges will be filed...and then they wil LAUGH about it, trade insulting names for the pussy's the reported it...and then the cop will get a little pissed because he should be cahasing acutal, real violent offenders.

You asswads who think this is violence....good fucking lord I'm glad you didn't grow up 20 years ago, you sniveling, weak little whiny douchebags.

There...THAT was some verbal violencefor you....FAR worse than a god-damned nerf dart. Wanna press charges against it, your putrified dog shits?

As for "fear"....some dork drives up to the window, shoots the nerf dart (traveling at what? 20 feet per second...???) and the moron in the window was AFRAID?

I guarantee they had no idea what happened until after the perps drove away, probably barely felt the "dart" (stupid, misleading name), and they were just pissed because everyone laughed their asses off at them. That's why they called the cops, becuase they were humiliated, not hurt, harmed, scared, etc.

Any of you morons ever work a drive through? Or is that too scary for you? I did...I would have thought this was fucking *classic* and given the guy a free milkshake for a job well done!

Draug, I agree that the fear premise is stretching the clause. I think there should be another clause that stipulates that you can file for assault charges if you feel that you were being violently provoked. Obviously, the law would have to be worded better, but there should be some kind of allowance for annoyance charges so that you can discourage this kind of ridiculous behavior.

Yeah, that's right, krellin. I think it should be a criminal offense to annoy people in some respects. Go to town.

Violence... Let me tell you about violence. I took a snowball, nay an *ice*ball to the face. Some rat bastard dipped a snow ball in a swimming pool, called out my name, and then hit me in the face with said iceball slashing open a 1" long gash under my eye. 14 stiches from a plastic surgeon and I still have the scar. His parents beat the shit out of him, but that was all that happened. We didn't even sue for the insurance bill, just wrote it off as kids being kids and an accident. Nowadays someone would have sued someone else. Stupid fucking litigious society.

@KA - Public nuisance charges along with trespassing should be sufficient. They were obviously trespassing because they didn't order anything.

King Atom - you are a simple-minded, weak authoritarian moron. Why don't you just grow a fucking pair, and when someone annoys you tell them to fuck off or, you know, just ignore them.

All you fucking libtards that think that Utopia = Thought Police and "nobody ever offends my delicate sensibilities " will be the first ones to start fuckign crying why the government authorian hammer falls on YOUR head for unclean thoughts...<that's right, it's all fun and games until the authoritarian in charge think ass-fucking is NOT such a good idea and declares YOU the outlaw...>

One time when I was refereeing a Soccer game a kid shot me with a nerf gun. Does that mean I can press charges??

" They were obviously trespassing because they didn't order anything. "

It's not tresspassing. "We were going to order, then realized we didn't have any money..." At best they get a ticket for driving through a parkign lot to cut a corner or something.

Irony is that the Christian view is "thoughts are a crime". Was it not Christ who said "if you look upon a woman with lust in your heart, you have committed adultery"? So the libtards and the moral majority have something in common. They both believe thinking is a crime.

@krell, ok, so give them that. There should be some kind of fine for being a moron in public.

@Draug - had similar experiences in my youth - fights between kids - that's how we settled shit...and the next day, we were friends again, or at least gave each other respect on the playground for manning up and trading blows.

these fucking cowardly, pussified kids....they seriosuly want to make me puke sometimes.

And to think I thought MY generation was weak compared to my fathers...how disgusted the older generations must be with America today. Hitler is rolling in his grave right now, "If only I had been alive today," he says, "I could have just thrown a few insults at the US and they would have run to the UN, crying like babies and suing for peace while I conquered the world..."

<Yeah...that's right...I WENT THERE!>

OMG! Krellin just Godwin'd the thread!

Nerf Gun to Godwin in 33 posts....how's that, bitches? Maybe you should call the cops on me, you ridiculous assclowns.

And you're all dance monkeys, too, just for good measure. Yeah, that's right. Well...not al...but the dance monkies know who they are...your guilty conscience convicts you!!!

and worse than assault charges:

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=9435955

He went inside, got the gun, came back out and *still* managed to kill one of them? What were they driving? A clown car?