Briton convicted for throwing snowball

Snowball throwing a Crime?

A British court on Wednesday convicted a man of assault and placed him under a two-week curfew for throwing a snowball at a female police officer.

Dean Smith was shopping with his family before Christmas in the town of Swadlincote, central England, when he chucked the snowball at the officer.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to common assault at the court in Derby, central England. He was handed a 14-day curfew and ordered to pay 85 pounds (134 dollars, 102 euros) costs.

Before his conviction, Smith said he thought it had been a joke when police turned up at his door several days after he threw the snowball.

“I couldn’t understand it. When they took me to the police station I thought it was a joke at first,” said Smith, cited in The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

“How much has all this cost the taxpayer?”

Prosecutors however claimed that Smith had been acting aggressively because of a grudge and pointed out he had previously been convicted for obstructing a police officer.

Under the terms of his curfew, Smith reportedly has to wear an electronic tag and stay at home between 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) and 7:00 am (0700 GMT) for the next two weeks.