[wideawake]

but just how many cops would actually write up a report about warning someone not to throw an egg...worse, how many cops would write such a report claiming to know what the "perp's" intent was?

You might be able to discern intent pretty easily.

If someone is standing on the street with an egg in their hand in a pitcher's windup, you know they are not weighing whether or not to fry or poach the egg.

What if you had caught this individual egging people's property before, creating a nuisance with his vandalism? If I were a cop who had caught him before, knew him to be a troublemaker, etc., I'd probably write him up just to document that he was at it again.

[JRios1968]

That’s a lot more detail than is given in this story....good points all, but a lot more detail than what was provided.