Today's over-reaction story

[ysengrin]

A University of California, Davis, police declaration supporting the arrest of James Marchbanks describes the fear three students reportedly felt when he presented an envelope holding end-of-course evaluations by saying, "I have a bomb."

"There was no expression of a smile or indicating he was joking," a student told campus police, according to the declaration. "My stomach dropped and I felt my life flash before my eyes."

But a letter reportedly signed by 13 other students in the class says Marchbanks was clearly using a figure of speech to present the documents that might "bomb" his career.

"Considering we are in a Drama 10 course, his performance that morning was a dramatic performance of the evaluations procedures," the students wrote.

Sacramento News article, via Uncertain Principles

The result? Marchbanks was arrested and held for four days on charges of "making a terrorist threat, false imprisonment and making a false bomb threat." Apparently the imprisonment charge was due to Marchbanks saying students could not leave the classroom until the evaluations had been returned. Prosecutors declined to press the charges (at this time) and Marchbanks was released.

What delicate snowflakes in that class.