We reviewed some of the @CartNarcs parking lot encounters, and give a complete breakdown on whether their conduct is Harassment or Assault.

Special THANK YOU to @CartNarcs for allowing us to review these videos and for taking the time to answer our questions!

Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
00:26 – Who are the Cart Narcs?
01:28 – Are the Cart Narcs committing assault?
03:02 – Are the Cart Narcs Harassing people?
05:28 – What are obscene communications?
06:21 – Is publishing an unflattering YouTube video harassment?
07:24 – Are the Cart Narcs illegally following people?
08:28 – The Interview with Cart Narcs

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Links:
Cart Narcs -    / @cartnarcs   (all copyright of the Cart Narcs' videos remains with Cart Narcs)

Music:
Shadows – Anno Domini Beats
Music provided via YouTube Studio Audio Library

Who are the Cart Narcs?

The Cart Narcs’ mission is to combat the widespread issue of shopping cart abandonment due to the inconvenience it causes to both customers and store employees, and to prevent property damage from loose carts.

Agent Cordell, with a firm but friendly approach, patrols various shopping centers, parking lots, and retail establishments in Texas, on the lookout for individuals who neglect to return their shopping carts properly. When he spots an offender, Agent Cordell springs into action, armed with only a camera, magnets of shame, and a sense of humor, in an attempt to encourage the Lazy Bones to do better.

Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates enforcement of this social contract.
When some people are confronted for being a Lazy Bones, they deflect by alleging that the Cart Narcs Agent is committing a crime. The most common crimes the Cart Narcs are accused of committing are Assault and Harassment.

Are the Cart Narcs committing assault?

Under Texas law, assault is defined as:

1. intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to another person,

2. threatening another person with imminent bodily injury, or

3. intentionally or knowingly causing physical contact with another person when the person knows or should reasonably believe that the other person will regard the contact as offensive or provocative.

--See Assault – Tex. Pen. Code § 22.01

So, as we see in that first clip, the Cart Narc Agent tosses the magnet onto the car’s hood. He hasn’t caused bodily injury or caused offensive contact with the driver. Also, because the tossing of the magnet didn’t threaten anyone with imminent bodily injury, then it doesn’t qualify as an assault.

Simply touching someone’s vehicle is not assault. And no, touching a vehicle with someone inside is not an assault either. For this to rise to the level of assault, the Cart Narcs would have to throw something at the driver sitting in the vehicle in such a manner that threatens the driver with imminent bodily injury. Obviously, that hasn’t happened here. So maybe if he gets a Cart Narc Brick that he throws at the windshield , THEN we’d be looking at an assault.

That brings us to harassment.

Are the Cart Narcs Harassing people?

Harassment is a 2-element offense. It requires 1) a very specific intent, and 2) performance of a specific action.

For Cart Narcs to have committed harassment, there must first be “intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another.”

Absent an outright confession, you have to determine intent through circumstantial evidence. As explained by the Cart Narcs in nearly every video, their goal is to encourage people to return their carts. For us to know if the Cart Narcs’ intent is to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass someone, then you have to look at all of the interactions since they all start out the same.

For the lazy bones who show remorse and go to take their carts back, the Cart Narcs show gratitude and offer to return the cart for them.

I think that is the truest measure of “intent” behind the interactions because if the intent was to annoy, embarrass, or harass, then the Cart Narcs would pester, antagonize, and continue to point out their error instead of thanking them for the correction.

Without this intent, then even if there is performance of the specific action, it doesn’t constitute an offense for harassment.

I’m going to skim through some of those specific actions because these don’t apply in a typical Cart Narc interaction:

1. threatening to inflict bodily injury on the person or to commit a felony against the person, their family, or their property;

2. making a false report to someone that another person has suffered death or serious bodily injury;

3. repeatedly calling someone’s phone, failure to hang up a phone, or allowing someone else to use a phone to make harassing calls; or

4. sending repeated electronic communications to harass someone.

Since none...