'Gallon Smashing' Raise Legal Concerns

[xdivision_whitey]

A video that shows three teens pretending to fall in a supermarket, spilling the gallons of milk they are carrying, has become a hit on the Internet.

Dubbed "gallon smashing," the prank has done well online but might have legal implications.

In the original video, the three Vienna, Va., teens - Zayd, Faysal and Omar Khatib - film themselves carrying milk containers in supermarkets. They pretend to trip and fall, sending the gallons of milk crashing to the floor, with dramatic results. Supermarket workers and shoppers who don't know it's part of a prank rush to help the seemingly injured boys as they flail about in the spilled milk.

The teens - two brothers and their cousin - consider themselves actors and have their own YouTube channel, theCHAIZYchannel, where they say, "We've always been pranksters. But on December 10th 2011 we decided to start getting our pranks on camera."

Their other prank videos include one showing their lying down in odd poses on a moving elevator, while another shows their pretending to splash unsuspecting people with an empty bucket.

The trio told the cable show "Right This Minute" that the "gallon smashing" video was an innocent prank and no one got hurt.

But they seem to realize that gallon-smashing takes things to a whole new level.

"I don't think we can top this. We probably won't do anything this bad again, probably calm it down a little," one of the boys told "Right This Minute."

One "gallon smashing" video earned more than 3 million views on YouTube in less than a week.

Some people find it hilarious but Dana Cole, an attorney and legal analyst for ABC News, says it potentially runs afoul of the law.

"Looking at the video, it does seem a bit malicious, not so funny particularly because someone has to clean it up," Cole said. "Based upon that, it can easily be viewed as a crime."

The original posters' video has been pulled from YouTube, but others have uploaded it.

An alleged copycat gallon-smashing incident in Utah this week led to disorderly conduct charges for 10 juveniles.

read on

[Gold n Oranges]

Simply because someone has to clean it up I don't think it's against the law. If the store wants to go after these boys their best bet would probably be something like disorderly conduct or public disturbance at best the kids would probably get fines and exclusions from the store. I doubt there is anything truly criminal in this.

[Shama_okami]

I hope they paid for the product they destroyed.

[Eternal Marionetta]

Waste of good milk. = - =

[Kaiser Khorosho]

Gold n Oranges

Simply because someone has to clean it up I don't think it's against the law. If the store wants to go after these boys their best bet would probably be something like disorderly conduct or public disturbance at best the kids would probably get fines and exclusions from the store. I doubt there is anything truly criminal in this.

Of course its disorderly conduct. They're causing a ruckus and "destroying" product. The store is out of money and man hours (minutes.) Give these stupid guys a ticket.

[Vampirate Kitsune]

Vandalism comes to mind. And a sort of theft because it costs the supermarket money to clean up the mess. In one snip, a full gallon comes close to hitting a bystander. And there's a risk that someone hurrying to help the "victim" could really slip and fall and be injured.

These guys think they're funny, but they're thoughtless jerks. I hope they have good insurance.

[A mali]

Eternal Marionetta

Waste of good milk. = - =

This.
I love drinking milk and that's just so wasteful.

[RedPatriot]

They should be charged with disorderly conduct and made to clean up their mess and pay for any damaged property. If someone was to slip and fall due to this prank they should be held accountable for any harm done to that individual as well.

[David2074]

Gold n Oranges

Simply because someone has to clean it up I don't think it's against the law. If the store wants to go after these boys their best bet would probably be something like disorderly conduct or public disturbance at best the kids would probably get fines and exclusions from the store. I doubt there is anything truly criminal in this.

It's vandalism.
And I'm guessing from your comment you have never had to clean up gallons of milk and have no clue how much work it can be. You mop and you mop and you mop. Then you change your mop water for fresh water and you mop some more. And if you don't get 110% of it then you have a dull film and after a couple of days you have an annoying sour smell that is hard to get rid of. It's a royal pain in the a**. All of that is hugely compounded if it was able to go under shelves and racks and things so you can't get to all of it. Spilling gallons on purpose is extremely asinine.

I've had a couple of experiences along those lines. In boot camp the week I was working in the galley some guy dropped one of those bags of milk that goes in the milk dispensers. It's a 4 or 5 gallon bag in a sort of plastic cage style crate. The bag broke and I watched a miniature tidal wave of milk speed across the dining room floor. It took a dozen guys about an hour to clean it up thoroughly and we were working hard because it happened shortly before we were supposed to get off shift and we were tired and wanted to go.

Another time one gallon spilled in the back of my van. I had to pull out the carpeting and under pad and scrub and scrub and still had a faint sour odor. I ended up dumping lots of baking soda around the back and tolerating it for a month or two.

This is a good example of why I hate pranks. They almost always involve one or more assholes doing something dickish to someone that didn't do anything to them and then claiming no responsibility because 'hey, it was just a joke'. ******** them. If they want to dump milk they can do that s**t in their own house and see if their parents think there was 'no harm done'.

[Acemaster19]

Gold n Oranges

Simply because someone has to clean it up I don't think it's against the law. If the store wants to go after these boys their best bet would probably be something like disorderly conduct or public disturbance at best the kids would probably get fines and exclusions from the store. I doubt there is anything truly criminal in this.

[Gold n Oranges]

David2074

Gold n Oranges

Simply because someone has to clean it up I don't think it's against the law. If the store wants to go after these boys their best bet would probably be something like disorderly conduct or public disturbance at best the kids would probably get fines and exclusions from the store. I doubt there is anything truly criminal in this.

It's vandalism.
And I'm guessing from your comment you have never had to clean up gallons of milk and have no clue how much work it can be. You mop and you mop and you mop. Then you change your mop water for fresh water and you mop some more. And if you don't get 110% of it then you have a dull film and after a couple of days you have an annoying sour smell that is hard to get rid of. It's a royal pain in the a**. All of that is hugely compounded if it was able to go under shelves and racks and things so you can't get to all of it. Spilling gallons on purpose is extremely asinine.

I've had a couple of experiences along those lines. In boot camp the week I was working in the galley some guy dropped one of those bags of milk that goes in the milk dispensers. It's a 4 or 5 gallon bag in a sort of plastic cage style crate. The bag broke and I watched a miniature tidal wave of milk speed across the dining room floor. It took a dozen guys about an hour to clean it up thoroughly and we were working hard because it happened shortly before we were supposed to get off shift and we were tired and wanted to go.

Another time one gallon spilled in the back of my van. I had to pull out the carpeting and under pad and scrub and scrub and still had a faint sour odor. I ended up dumping lots of baking soda around the back and tolerating it for a month or two.

This is a good example of why I hate pranks. They almost always involve one or more assholes doing something dickish to someone that didn't do anything to them and then claiming no responsibility because 'hey, it was just a joke'. ******** them. If they want to dump milk they can do that s**t in their own house and see if their parents think there was 'no harm done'.

Ok, it's asinine vandalism. I do believe the OP said the pranksters were teens. Teens are (mostly) idiots. Yes, I've cleaned up spilled milk and yes, I've missed some and had to sniff it out a few days later. It does suck but do a good job the first time and you don't have to do it a second time.

Also.. I am a prankster so as long as no one was injured and there's no major property damage I see no harm. I frequently target my friends and coworkers (even driving an hour or so out of my way) to coat their cars in shrink wrap, shaving cream, condoms, balloons and heaven help me if I can get inside!

I've worked in stores as a cleaner/stocker and my current job in a shipping warehouse has seen everything from assorted bodily fluids (human and animal), barbecue sauce and mercury spilled across my work area. There are worse things than a gallon of spilled milk or two.

[David2074]

Gold n Oranges

David2074

Gold n Oranges

Simply because someone has to clean it up I don't think it's against the law. If the store wants to go after these boys their best bet would probably be something like disorderly conduct or public disturbance at best the kids would probably get fines and exclusions from the store. I doubt there is anything truly criminal in this.

It's vandalism.
And I'm guessing from your comment you have never had to clean up gallons of milk and have no clue how much work it can be. You mop and you mop and you mop. Then you change your mop water for fresh water and you mop some more. And if you don't get 110% of it then you have a dull film and after a couple of days you have an annoying sour smell that is hard to get rid of. It's a royal pain in the a**. All of that is hugely compounded if it was able to go under shelves and racks and things so you can't get to all of it. Spilling gallons on purpose is extremely asinine.

I've had a couple of experiences along those lines. In boot camp the week I was working in the galley some guy dropped one of those bags of milk that goes in the milk dispensers. It's a 4 or 5 gallon bag in a sort of plastic cage style crate. The bag broke and I watched a miniature tidal wave of milk speed across the dining room floor. It took a dozen guys about an hour to clean it up thoroughly and we were working hard because it happened shortly before we were supposed to get off shift and we were tired and wanted to go.

Another time one gallon spilled in the back of my van. I had to pull out the carpeting and under pad and scrub and scrub and still had a faint sour odor. I ended up dumping lots of baking soda around the back and tolerating it for a month or two.

This is a good example of why I hate pranks. They almost always involve one or more assholes doing something dickish to someone that didn't do anything to them and then claiming no responsibility because 'hey, it was just a joke'. ******** them. If they want to dump milk they can do that s**t in their own house and see if their parents think there was 'no harm done'.

Ok, it's asinine vandalism. I do believe the OP said the pranksters were teens. Teens are (mostly) idiots. Yes, I've cleaned up spilled milk and yes, I've missed some and had to sniff it out a few days later. It does suck but do a good job the first time and you don't have to do it a second time.

Also.. I am a prankster so as long as no one was injured and there's no major property damage I see no harm. I frequently target my friends and coworkers (even driving an hour or so out of my way) to coat their cars in shrink wrap, shaving cream, condoms, balloons and heaven help me if I can get inside!

I've worked in stores as a cleaner/stocker and my current job in a shipping warehouse has seen everything from assorted bodily fluids (human and animal), barbecue sauce and mercury spilled across my work area. There are worse things than a gallon of spilled milk or two.

Yes there are worse things that can be spilled but that's not the point. Most of the things you have to clean up at work are probably not spilled on purpose and in multi-gallon quantities.

If your friends are the type who think it is great fun to find their car covered in shaving cream (which can damage the paint) then good for you. Anyone who did that crap to me would not be my friend very long. But, that said, I don't have a problem with people pranking each other as long as everyone agrees to be part of 'the game'. But pranking innocents who don't know / want to be included is just victimizing them. And I'm not talking so much about minor pranks like putting an ice cube down someone's back. I'm talking about the 'one upsmenship' and the over the top pranks trying to be famous on FB or youtube.

And with milk it's easy to say "if you do a good job the first time" but if there are lots of crevices and shelf legs and cracks and such doing a good job can be extremely time consuming when multiple gallons are involved.

Anyway, if condoms and shaving cream work for you and your friends have fun.

[VirginianRanger]

surprised

Gold n Oranges

Simply because someone has to clean it up I don't think it's against the law. If the store wants to go after these boys their best bet would probably be something like disorderly conduct or public disturbance at best the kids would probably get fines and exclusions from the store. I doubt there is anything truly criminal in this.

Once again, David 2074 is spot on. Here in Virginia where the "prank" originally occured, the store manager or owner can file misdemeanor charges. Actions have consequences, people.

[Nyadriel]

David2074

Gold n Oranges

Simply because someone has to clean it up I don't think it's against the law. If the store wants to go after these boys their best bet would probably be something like disorderly conduct or public disturbance at best the kids would probably get fines and exclusions from the store. I doubt there is anything truly criminal in this.

It's vandalism.
And I'm guessing from your comment you have never had to clean up gallons of milk and have no clue how much work it can be. You mop and you mop and you mop. Then you change your mop water for fresh water and you mop some more. And if you don't get 110% of it then you have a dull film and after a couple of days you have an annoying sour smell that is hard to get rid of. It's a royal pain in the a**. All of that is hugely compounded if it was able to go under shelves and racks and things so you can't get to all of it. Spilling gallons on purpose is extremely asinine.

I've had a couple of experiences along those lines. In boot camp the week I was working in the galley some guy dropped one of those bags of milk that goes in the milk dispensers. It's a 4 or 5 gallon bag in a sort of plastic cage style crate. The bag broke and I watched a miniature tidal wave of milk speed across the dining room floor. It took a dozen guys about an hour to clean it up thoroughly and we were working hard because it happened shortly before we were supposed to get off shift and we were tired and wanted to go.

Another time one gallon spilled in the back of my van. I had to pull out the carpeting and under pad and scrub and scrub and still had a faint sour odor. I ended up dumping lots of baking soda around the back and tolerating it for a month or two.

This is a good example of why I hate pranks. They almost always involve one or more assholes doing something dickish to someone that didn't do anything to them and then claiming no responsibility because 'hey, it was just a joke'. ******** them. If they want to dump milk they can do that s**t in their own house and see if their parents think there was 'no harm done'.

@ emboldened:
In... total.. agreement here

They should spend a lot of time doing the cleaning, doing many hours community service and pay a hefty fine. jail time is just a waste of space here as well as waste of money housing these __.

I was a victim of a prank years ago when I was working at McD's. It was late at night at closing time and I was tired and wanted to go home. I spent a lot of time mopping the floors. While I was in front in the customer area, four people (one of them the night manager) took a lot of ketchup packets and stomped on them all over the floor I had just mopped. You cannot imagine the worthlessness I felt after my efforts were all for pretty much nothing.

[Askdlfrbfbfvbrbs]

Eternal Marionetta

Waste of good milk. = - =

Yeah really, they could have drank it instead of being assholes about it.