No Tolerance Policy: Helpful or Destructive?

The New York Times recently published an article about the no tolerance policy of schools in context of weaponry. Parents were concerned that maybe absolutely no tolerance should be changed to a careful review of each individual case when a first grader was expelled. The boy, a new boyscout, was excited to bring his special eating utensil to school that served as a spoon, a fork, and a knife. The boy's parents were immediately outraged at the school's lack of concern of the problems this silly incident would cause the boy later on. Many other parents who had similar experiences with their children and the schooling systems agreed and wanted a change in the strict no tolerance policy.
This is completely outrageous. How can a school assume that a small child, excited to show off a new boyscout toy, would think about using it as a weapon against another child or a teacher??? These policies need to be changed, especially regarding small children.