[R.O. 2011 § 215.160]
A. 
A person commits the offense of assault if:
1. 
The person attempts to cause or recklessly causes physical injury to another person; or
2. 
With criminal negligence the person causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon; or
3. 
The person purposely places another person in apprehension of immediate physical injury; or
4. 
The person recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death or serious physical injury to another person; or
5. 
The person knowingly causes physical contact with another person knowing the other person will regard the contact as offensive or provocative; or
6. 
The person knowingly causes physical contact with an incapacitated person, as defined in Section 475.010, RSMo., or a person with a disability, which a reasonable person, who is not incapacitated nor has a disability, would consider offensive or provocative.
[R.O. 2011 § 215.170; Ord. No. 22-123, 9-6-2022]
A. 
A person commits the offense of peace disturbance if:
1. 
Disturbs or alarms another person or persons by:
a. 
Generating or broadcasting loud noise, including music, that would be offensive to a reasonable person given the circumstances and surroundings; or
b. 
Offensive language addressed in a face-to-face manner to a specific individual uttered under circumstances which are likely to produce an immediate violent response from a reasonable recipient; or
c. 
Threatening to commit a felonious act against any person under circumstances which are likely to cause a reasonable person to fear that such threat may be carried out; or
d. 
Fighting; or
e. 
Creating a noxious and offensive odor that would be offensive to a reasonable person given the circumstances and surroundings.
2. 
Is in a public place or on private property of another without consent and purposely causes inconvenience to another person or persons by unreasonably and physically obstructing:
a. 
Vehicular or pedestrian traffic; or
b. 
The free ingress or egress to or from a public or private place.
[1]
State Law Reference: Similar provisions, § 574.010, RSMo.
[R.O. 2011 § 215.180; R.O. 2009 § 131.03; CC 1981 § 20-117; Ord. No. 80-103, 9-3-1980]
A. 
A person commits the offense of private peace disturbance if he/she is on private property and unreasonably and purposely causes alarm to another person or persons on the same premises by:
1. 
Threatening to commit a crime against any person; or
2. 
Fighting.
B. 
For purposes of this Section, if a building or structure is divided into separately occupied units, such units are separate premises.
C. 
It shall be unlawful and an ordinance violation for any person to commit an act of private peace disturbance.
[1]
State Law Reference: Similar provisions, §§ 574.010 – 574.020, RSMo.
[R.O. 2011 § 215.190; R.O. 2009 § 131.05; CC 1981 § 20-120; Ord. No. 83-60, 8-10-1983]
If two (2) or more persons shall, in any public place in the City, voluntarily or by agreement engage in any fight or use any blows or violence toward each other in an angry or quarrelsome manner or do each other any willful mischief or if any person shall assault another and strike him/her in any public place to the terror or disturbance of others, the person so offending shall be deemed guilty of an ordinance violation of affray.
[R.O. 2011 § 215.200]
A person commits the offense of unlawful assembly if he/she knowingly assembles with six (6) or more other persons and agrees with such persons to violate any of the criminal laws of this State or of the United States with force or violence.
[1]
State Law Reference: Similar provisions, § 574.040, RSMo.
[R.O. 2011 § 215.210; R.O. 2009 § 131.07; Ord. No. 07-321, 12-19-2007]
A. 
For purposes of this Section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
COURSE OF CONDUCT
A pattern of conduct composed of repeated acts over a period of time, however short, that serves no legitimate purpose. Such conduct may include, but is not limited to, following the other person or unwanted communication or unwanted contact.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
The origination, emission, dissemination, transmission or reception of data, images, signals, sounds or other intelligence or equivalence of intelligence of any nature over any communications system by any method including, but not limited to, a fiber optic, electronic, magnetic, optical, digital or analog method. By way of example, "electronic communication" includes, but is not limited to: electronic mail, Internet-based communications, pager service or electronic text messaging.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE
Any instrument, equipment, machine or other device that facilitates telecommunication, including, but not limited to, a computer, computer network, computer chip, computer circuit, scanner, telephone, cellular telephone, pager, personal communications device, transponder, receiver, radio, modem or device that enables the use of a modem.
HARASSMENT
Engaging in a purposeful or knowing course of conduct involving more than one (1) incident that alarms or causes distress to another adult and serves no legitimate purpose. The course of conduct must be such as would cause a reasonable adult to suffer substantial emotional distress and must actually cause substantial emotional distress to the petitioner. Such conduct might include, but is not limited to:
1. 
Following another about in a public place or places;
2. 
Peering in the window or lingering outside the residence of another; but does not include constitutionally protected activity.
B. 
Harassment.
1. 
A person commits the offense of harassment if he or she:
a. 
Knowingly communicates a threat to commit any felony to another person and in so doing frightens, intimidates, or causes emotional distress to such other person; or
b. 
When communicating with another person, knowingly uses coarse language offensive to one of average sensibility and thereby puts such person in reasonable apprehension of offensive physical contact or harm; or
c. 
Knowingly frightens, intimidates, or causes emotional distress to another person by anonymously making a telephone call or any electronic communication; or
d. 
Knowingly communicates with another person who is, or who purports to be, seventeen (17) years of age or younger and in so doing and without good cause recklessly frightens, intimidates, or causes emotional distress to such other person; or
e. 
Knowingly makes repeated unwanted communication to another person; or
f. 
Without good cause engages in any other act with the purpose to frighten, intimidate, or cause emotional distress to another person, cause such person to be frightened, intimidated, or emotionally distressed, and such person's response to the act is one of a person of average sensibilities considering the age of such person.
2. 
Harassment is an ordinance violation unless:
a. 
Committed by a person twenty-one (21) years of age or older against a person seventeen (17) years of age or younger; or
b. 
The person has previously pleaded guilty to or been found guilty of a violation of this Section, or of any offense committed in violation of any County or Municipal ordinance in any State, any State law, any Federal law, or any military law which, if committed in this State, would be chargeable or indictable as a violation of any offense listed in this Subsection.
3. 
This Section shall not apply to activities of Federal, State, County, or Municipal Law Enforcement Officers conducting investigations of violation of Federal, State, County, or Municipal law.
C. 
Cyber-Harassment. It shall be unlawful for a person to perform any act which is cyber-harassment. A person commits the offense of cyber-harassment if he/she:
1. 
With intent to harass, alarm, annoy, abuse, threaten, intimidate, torment or embarrass any other person and under circumstances not constituting harassment as described in Subsection (B) of this Section, transmits or causes the transmission of an electronic communication or knowingly permits an electronic communication to be transmitted from an electronic communication device under the person's control to such other person or a third party:
a. 
Using any lewd, lascivious, indecent or obscene words, images or language or suggesting the commission of any lewd or lascivious act; or
b. 
Anonymously or repeatedly whether or not conversation occurs; or
c. 
Threatening to inflict injury on the person or property of the person communicated with or any member of his/her family or household; or
2. 
Makes or causes to be made an electronic communication or permits an electronic communication to be made from a electronic communications device under the person's control with the intent to harass, alarm, annoy, abuse, threaten, intimidate, torment or embarrass any other person either by the direct action of the person initiating the communication or through the actions of a third party, which third-party actions are instigated, initiated, prompted or brought about by the person's communication.
D. 
Any offense committed under this Section may be deemed to have been committed either at the place from which the communication was made or at the place where the communication was received.
E. 
This Section shall not apply to constitutionally protected activities which include, but are not limited to, picketing or activities regulated by the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, the Railway Labor Act, as amended, or the Federal Employment Labor Management Act, as amended.
[1]
Note: Under certain circumstances, this offense can be a felony under State law.
[R.O. 2011 § 215.220; Ord. No. 13-198 § 1, 10-1-2013]
A. 
No person shall knowingly picket or engage in other protest activities, nor shall any association or corporation knowingly cause picketing or other protest activities to occur, within three hundred (300) feet of any residence, cemetery, funeral home, church, synagogue, or other establishment or location during or within one (1) hour before or one (1) hour after any actual funeral or burial service at that place.
B. 
As used in this Section, "other protest activities" means any action that is disruptive or undertaken to disrupt or disturb a funeral or burial service.
C. 
As used in this Section, "funeral" and "burial" services mean the ceremonies and memorial services held in conjunction with the burial or cremation of the dead, but this Section does not apply to processions while they are in transit beyond any three-hundred-foot zone that is established under Subsection (A) above.
D. 
The offense of unlawful funeral protest shall be an ordinance violation.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former Section 215.220, Unlawful Picketing of A Funeral, adopted 1-18-2011 by Ord. No. 11-11 § 1, was repealed 7-2-2013 by Ord. No. 13-126 § 1.