Assault is never a good idea, but in some cases it’s downright ludicrous. On a recent Tuesday afternoon in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Deshawn Wedgeworth, 17, and two friends entered “Hip Hop Wear” clothing store on Fulton Street with the ostensible goal of returning a pair of jeans. The store owner refused to honor the return, which upset the trio and led one friend to push the clerk. The dispute escalated into a fight and spilled out onto the street, where Wedgeworth allegedly slashed the businessman’s face with a box-cutter before fleeing the scene. Their getaway car’s license plate number allowed authorities to nab two of the assailants, but the third remains at large. And now workers at the city’s many return desks have one more occupational hazard to add to the most reviled position in retail.

And recently, at the Broadway Junction platform of the J train, another similarly pedestrian event suddenly turned violent. Angel Cruz, a uniformed transit cop, approached a man that was smoking a cigarette in order to issue a routine summons. Before he could deliver the ticket, Hugo Hernandez, 22, who was accompanying his smoky friend, attacked the officer with a six-inch knife. A struggle ensued in which Hernandez sliced the side of the officer's face. Cruz managed to fire five shots, hitting Hernandez three times, thus ending the altercation without any deaths.