What is a dangerous item? I would submit it depends on the situation, intent and actions of the individual.

Peanuts & eggs. Yummy delicious food….except to those with deadly allergies. Dangerous Item? No and yes, depending on the situation and individuals.

As mentioned above, a pen.is not only a stabbing instrument but an improvised kuboton. Dangerous Item? Only if being used as a stabbing instrument or kuboton.

As I look at my desk, there’s my engineers scale (do an image search) – foot long, triangular, to pointed edges. Perfect for measuring drawings…..or creasing a head with a blow. Dangerous Item? Only to bean counters that get in the way of proper engineering work (joke, joke….)

Rock on the play field at the school in question. Dangerous Item? Only when hurled at windows. Otherwise, natural left over from the last ice age (see glacial till).

Cecil,

In answer to your question, I think that would depend on your definition of “great” in “great bodily harm.”

A Google search of “butter knife assault” shows more incidents than I would have thought:

Here are some quotes from articles:

“The victim was wearing a torn shirt and had cuts on her chest and left hand, according to the 52-year-old suspect’s Fort Walton Beach Police Department arrest report.”

Different incident:

“The victim was not taken to the hospital but was advised to go to urgent care to get stitches.”

Different incident:

“There were multiple bloody napkins on the ground near him.

Warner told police that Martinez was staring at him and his female friends at his table, documents state. Martinez then went over to Warner’s table. At that point, Martinez allegedly stabbed Warner in the head with a butter knife, documents state.”

I think these incidents show that you can cause injury and you can draw blood. Whether that goes as far as “great bodily injury” is up to you and other readers.

I seem to recall the consensus being this was understandable, if a bit of an overreaction.

You will notice that there is no effort to take pens or pencils from the students. In fact, the last time I was in a principal’s office, there were a lot of them around, suitable for arming the psychopaths.

Bob

Maybe you are trying to kill a werewolf and all you have is a hammer and a silver butter knife. 🙂

Come on you know that a butter knife is a gateway weapon to a steak knife.
A steak knife is a gateway weapon to a butcher knife.
A butcher knife is a gateway weapon to a switchblade.
A switchblade is a gateway weapon to a gun.

So in her eyes she just stopped a mass shooting.

Sarcasm off.

Oh, they got educated all right.

http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/archive/B277076.PDF

Same also available here:
https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/2017/b277076.html

> Filed 4/20/17
> CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
> IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
> SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
> DIVISION SIX
> …
>In re B.M., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.
> …
> A common butter knife is designed to cut and spread butter. In the
> hand of a person bent on assaulting another, it may be a useful tool
> to inflict great bodily injury. Consistent with an express direction
> from the California Supreme Court (People v. McCoy (1944) 25 Cal.2d
> l77, l88-189) and time-honored rules on appeal, we conclude that the
> trial court’s factual finding that the instant butter knife was a
> deadly weapon must be affirmed on appeal.
> …

Of course, almost any object can be a “dangerous item” or a deadly weapon if used as such with requisite intent.

Alas were she to be fired or demoted, the arbitrator at the grievance hearing would award her reinstatement, back pay and a tidy sum for emotional distress.

Yet another example of how citizens, in this case a child, pay the price for soft public corruption.