A Davis man learned the hard way Friday about local laws regarding shooting a bow and arrow in public.
Davis police Sgt. Dan Powell said officers received a report at about 6:20 p.m. of a man shooting a compound bow in the middle of Central Park. They arrived to find the man aiming arrows at a target placed about 40 yards away, near the busy children’s playground.
According to Powell, a city ordinance in effect since 1964 prohibits the release of certain weapons — including firearms, slingshots and arrows with metal tips — in the city limits without a special permit from the police chief.
Officers at first were prepared to let the man off with a warning, but also discovered that the man “had been drinking,” although not to the point of public intoxication, Powell said.
Because of his alleged threat to the public, police cited 27-year-old Kevin Luke Huntley for a misdemeanor violation of the state Fish and Game code prohibiting the release of arrows across a road or pathway open to the public.
Officers also confiscated Huntley’s compound bow pending the outcome of his court case.
Powell issued a reminder that there is an archery range south of the city, on County Road 104 near Tremont Road, “where people can safely practice their archery without endangering the public.”