Banana bandit: man arrested for pointing fruit at sheriff's deputies
A man in western Colorado was arrested and is facing a felony menacing charge, after two sheriff's deputies say he pointed a banana at them. Self-proclaimed comedian, Nathen Channing, 27, thought it would be funny to make law enforcement go bananas. Depending on the source, descriptions of this incident range from comical to “life threatening.”
The banana bandit is a resident of Fruitvale. He was taken into custody on November 23, 2014, after pointing a banana at a pair of Mesa County Sheriff’s deputies. Both law enforcement officials claim they initially believed that the piece of fruit was a handgun.
Tensions in the area were already high, as the arrest for banana menacing took place one day before a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson. In a widely criticized designation, Officer Wilson classified Michael Brown as “menacing” before he shot and killed him. Deputy Sheriffs Joshua Bunch and Donald Love, who mistook a banana for a handgun, are being criticized for overreacting, although some say that Channing got exactly what he deserved for antagonizing them. Both of them identified themselves as “victims” in the case against the menacing banana bandit.
