Man Arrested for Holding a Banana

Not only is it not polite to point,
it may get you a criminal record. Mesa County, Colorado, resident
Nathan Channing, 27, was recently arrested for holding a banana, which police
mistook for a gun, and allegedly pointing it at them. 

Channing told deputies he was doing a trial run for a YouTube
video. “It’s a banana!” Channing shouted as deputies drew their
guns.

Still, deputies approached the fruit with caution. There
were no cameras in the vicinity to suggest a YouTube video,
they said.

“A lot of time it’s how someone behaves and treats an object,
depends on whether or not that object is actually dangerous or is a
weapon,” a sheriff’s office spokesman said. He said the banana
could have been a firearm in disguise.

“It this case, it turned out to just be a banana,” he noted.

Shocking! What with the massive prevalence of faux-fruit
firearms out there and all.. 

Though Channing initially faced two felony menacing charges, the
DA’s office has oh-so-magnanimously decided to lessen the charge to
obstructing a peace officer, a misdemeanor. “I decided while Mr.
Channing’s conduct was felony stupid, it didn’t really deserve a
felony charge,” Mesa County District Attorney Pete
Hautzinger told KREX.

(Obligatory note of approval/mild surprise that, hey, at least
Channing wasn’t shot.)