A 43-year-old man was arrested and police seized nine improvised potato guns of various sizes...
"We haven’t found any damage or found anyone with injuries [but] the potential is obvious that someone could get hurt."
Getting hit by a potato would cause the same damage as a fast ball thrown by a major-league pitcher, said Sylven. Aiming a potato gun at someone can draw more serious charges than just firing it off a balcony, as this man is alleged to have done.
The answer is obvious.
Ban major league pitching.
The guy wasn't threatening anyone and didn't hurt anyone, so naturally they have to come in heavy on the force, haul him off, confiscate his property and leave him hanging with an expensive legal fight and potential criminal record. They couldn't just investigate the report and see for themselves no harm was being done--or caution him to move to a more appropriate area if there was any real danger. They couldn't just tell him it was pretty neat, and ask if they could fire a round or two.
We can't just mind our own business and have fun any more, can we?