California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Croutch, B237227 (Cal. App. 2013):
Defendant argues that the threat was too "outlandish" to be taken seriously; and that no trained law enforcement officer armed with a firearm, a baton, mace, and a stun gun would reasonably fear that a suspect would cause him physical harm, particularly since the suspect was physically unable to carry out the threat at the moment he made it and had calmed down by the time he reached the station. We disagree. First, the threat was not outlandish, as suspects are known to become assaultive. Second, an immediate ability to carry out the threat is not an element of the crime when the threat is conditioned upon a future event. (See People v. Lopez (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 675, 679.) Further, the
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