Does squirting someone with a water-pistol constitute assault?

step out infront of them, if your lucky they will fall off, if your unlucky youll get knocked over and you can sue for a fortune.

win win i think, you might even get some time off work?

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by neillfergie

step out infront of them, if your lucky they will fall off, if your unlucky youll get knocked over and you can sue for a fortune.

win win i think, you might even get some time off work?

I already do that.

do it dressed up a a gorilla?

would scare the **** out of them, might make it to youtube?

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by neillfergie

do it dressed up a a gorilla?

would scare the **** out of them, might make it to youtube?

See I find the idea of half a dozen bikers squirting cyclists under the railway bridge @ London Bridge to be even more YouTube-able.

Maybe I can rig something up using parts from a car to fit to the front of the Zed.......

A discretionary misdirected headlamp washer perhaps

[Red Herring]

I think if you were to start deliberately shooting water pistols at passing cyclists, however much they deserve it, you will run into trouble.

There are potential firearms offences, anything that discharges "any noxious liquid, gas or other thing" constitutes a sect 5 firearm, but you would probably be Ok with just plain water. There are also offences of immitation firearm in public and such like to consider.

Then you have the public order act, behavior likely to cause "alarm, harassment or distress" might get you I would suggest?

Then there is the Road Traffic Act, something about placing something across the road likely to cause a danger, just imagine if the jet of water you directed across the road at them caused them to swerve into a vehicle?

Finally there is the offences against the person act (assault). "Any act that causes a person to fear immediate and unlawful personal violence". How are they supposed to know it is only water, it doesn't matter what they later find out, at the time you did it what did it perceive? If they told the police that as far as they were concerned some madman jumped out pointing something at them and they were in fear of being attacked you would be in the back of the van pronto....

I do however like your principal. Perhaps if you stood just after the red light with a bucket of rather foul smelling water in your hand, and as the light goes red you start to cross the road. Then clearly as you have to jump out of the way of the errant cyclist it would be entirely possible for the bucket to get spilled, tragically in their direction. Of course, you may have trouble repeating this several times.....

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

You could claim you were just trying to give them a refreshing drink though

Just like everybody does at the Tour de France

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Red Herring

I think if you were to start deliberately shooting water pistols at passing cyclists, however much they deserve it, you will run into trouble.

There are potential firearms offences, anything that discharges "any noxious liquid, gas or other thing" constitutes a sect 5 firearm, but you would probably be Ok with just plain water. There are also offences of immitation firearm in public and such like to consider.

Then you have the public order act, behavior likely to cause "alarm, harassment or distress" might get you I would suggest?

Then there is the Road Traffic Act, something about placing something across the road likely to cause a danger, just imagine if the jet of water you directed across the road at them caused them to swerve into a vehicle?

Finally there is the offences against the person act (assault). "Any act that causes a person to fear immediate and unlawful personal violence". How are they supposed to know it is only water, it doesn't matter what they later find out, at the time you did it what did it perceive? If they told the police that as far as they were concerned some madman jumped out pointing something at them and they were in fear of being attacked you would be in the back of the van pronto....

I do however like your principal. Perhaps if you stood just after the red light with a bucket of rather foul smelling water in your hand, and as the light goes red you start to cross the road. Then clearly as you have to jump out of the way of the errant cyclist it would be entirely possible for the bucket to get spilled, tragically in their direction. Of course, you may have trouble repeating this several times.....

With all these offences AGAINST squirting law breakers with plain old water - well it seems like a waste of time

Pity the cops dont do anything about it tho.

Actually, could you get away with it if the water pistol was being used in conjunction with a citizens arrest?

And just how many cyclists should I have chained to the railings before I call for a cop van to come take them for processing?

[Shellywoozle]

You could use insanity as a defense, go on DO IT, film it and post it up LOL

More likely public order offence than an assault charge. Traffic unit may go for the Road Traffic offence. Yet another waste of police resources rather than the common sense approach