California cops shoot kid with toy gun aka Replica Assault Weapon

[WyattandDoc]

I believe your post highlights what concerns many of us.

It appears that child did not receive the same consideration from the officers that they are entitled to receive. Did the officers consider what a reasonable 13 year old boy would be doing at 3:00 P.M. on a school day. My immediate thought would be that he just got out of school and was wanting to play with some friends. Just how should a 13 year old boy be expected to react when he has the mind set that he is not violating a law (it is not illegal to possess a toy gun) while walking to a friends house to play and is shouted at from behind? It is possible that the boy may not have realized the commands were directed at him.

As far as the toy gun, well it is apparent that everyone realizes that toy guns exist, kids play with them and some of them are realistic. It appears that the officers did not considered these factors before firing.

We should not be viewed as a bunch of "Monday morning keyboard commandos". We are citizens. These are our communities. It is our right to express our opinions. It is our right to seek changes in our government as we see fit. You, as a law enforcement officer, seem to have no respect for the citizens you were hired to serve.

Read your entire post and then pull up the article on the Columbine High School shooting. It's too bad a proactive LEO wasn't standing at the schools entrance. You would have let them run right past you thinking their just out playing war games or heading to study hall

[WyattandDoc]

TRICKSTER, it was obviously past your bedtime. Only the trolls were trying to suggest that the cops were out to shoot someone. It was clear that these cops simply do not have the experience, training, fortitude, or morals to be cops. They were far too scared in a situation that should have been handled appropriately. They aren't murderers, they're just as incompetent as any cop that would support their actions.

I think what we're trying to get across, is that all the training, experience, intestinal fortitude, bravery and restraint in the world doesn't prepare you for some situations.

I said it before. I could create a situation where YOU pull the trigger. I will then walk you up to the aftermath and you will discover you shouldn't have shot.

We all have different levels of Fight or Flight. We all have different sensory perceptions that process things differently. Again, I promise you I could present a situation that is the EXACT opposite of what you perceive.

Sometimes, in these real life situations, we act accordingly to what 90% of the population would, only to realize we killed an unarmed kid. Life is sometimes ugly and unpredictable. Until you stop hiring human beings as your LEO's, these ugly unfortunate situations will continue to happen.

When I reference Monday Morning Quarterbacks, I mean the people that have never played a down. Never faced any type of life threatening situation and all the feelings that flood your head when rounds are flying, or when guns are pointed at you. It's alot different than facing down the barrel of a paper target. Many of the critics on hear have never been shot at much less had a gun pointed at them, aside from some idiot at the range. It's easy to critique when that sort of adrenaline or fear has never entered the blood stream. That's all we're saying.

[SVT-40]

Link?

"Link"?? This was in 1981....

I guess you don't realize that many many billions of events occurred before the "internet" as we know it today existed...

So not every event will have a "link"...

Even today, most police contacts will not have "links"....

[RandyD]

Read your entire post and then pull up the article on the Columbine High School shooting. It's too bad a proactive LEO wasn't standing at the schools entrance. You would have let them run right past you thinking their just out playing war games or heading to study hall

You are not adding to the discussion by assuming how I would react in a hypothetical situation. You are just trying to malign me by throw darts at me for calling you out.

I am still waiting for you to identify the large agency that employs you. If you are worried about being identified, I doubt that will occur given that you hide behind a pseudonym that would be difficult to attribute to one person in a large department.

[kentactic]

Why did the cops think it was a real gun? "Assault weapons" are illegal. No one would ever have one.

[jonzer77]

"Link"?? This was in 1981....

I guess you don't realize that many many billions of events occurred before the "internet" as we know it today existed...

So not every event will have a "link"...

Even today, most police contacts will not have "links"....

How convenient

[TRICKSTER]

We should not be viewed as a bunch of "Monday morning keyboard commandos". We are citizens. These are our communities. It is our right to express our opinions. It is our right to seek changes in our government as we see fit. You, as a law enforcement officer, seem to have no respect for the citizens you were hired to serve.

If people are going to post uninformed off the wall viewpoints and act like "Monday morning keyboard commandos" then they shouldn't be offended when it is pointed out.

So according to you, LEOs are not allowed to express their opinion and point out when some "citizen" expresses an ignorant and uninformed viewpoint.

Expressing an opinion on someones uninformed viewpoint is suddenly taking away their right to seek changes in their government?

Sound more like you want to squash any viewpoint that doesn't match your views.

You, as a citizen, seem to have no respect for the 1st Amendment.

[Artema]

We're all being keyboard commandos and whining. The LEO here are not acting more or less like babies than their fellow civilians. Lets keep away from the silly 1st amendment arguments.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

I'm not going to weigh in on the specifics of this case. I just wanted to say that i get THE BEST tactical advice and analysis from CG OT. Some people may call them armchair quarterbacks or keyboard commandos, but I know hard boiled gritty tell it like it is analysis when I see it. I almost can't believe this valuable commentary is free, because there is a lucrative market out there for critical analysis of police tactics, even if it is all based off of Call of Duty, Airsoft, and paintball. It is time to come out of Grandma's basement and share this insight with the world!

[TRICKSTER]

I'm not going to weigh in on the specifics of this case. I just wanted to say that i get THE BEST tactical advice and analysis from CG OT. Some people may call them armchair quarterbacks or keyboard commandos, but I know hard boiled gritty tell it like it is analysis when I see it. I almost can't believe this valuable commentary is free, because there is a lucrative market out there for critical analysis of police tactics, even if it is all based off of Call of Duty, Airsoft, and paintball. It is time to come out of Grandma's basement and share this insight with the world!

Yep, just think of the knowledge that could be obtained from this forum. Maybe we could start a discussion on surgeries that have gone wrong and surgeons could get serious critical analysis from all the Calguns members that have experience playing Operation.

[Whiskey_Sauer]

Give me a break...you're telling me two cops who had the drop on this kid, guns drawn, fully aware of what they were dealing with, did not have enough cover and protection to wait one more second to assess the situation and restrain themselves from using deadly force? Yeah right...sounds like a trigger happy, power hungry dip**** wanted to shoot his gun.

^^^ What's your basis for this assertion bolded above?

By the way, it appears that this took place in a field. No cover available. But you knew that, right?

[donnie707]

^^^ What's your basis for this assertion bolded above?

By the way, it appears that this took place in a field. No cover available. But you knew that, right?

um. I thought it happened on the sidewalk in front of the field? their squad car is their cover. it sounds like they didn't even give the kid a chance to DROP his toy gun before they started shooting. I understand if youre an leo your life is on the line every single day. but dam, we trust you to make logical, split second decision. and in this instance everyone can agree it was the wrong choice that these officers made. just a tragedy. you hear about these kinds of things all the time.

[Artema]

um. I thought it happened on the sidewalk in front of the field? their squad car is their cover. it sounds like they didn't even give the kid a chance to DROP his toy gun before they started shooting. I understand if youre an leo your life is on the line every single day. but dam, we trust you to make logical, split second decision. and in this instance everyone can agree it was the wrong choice that these officers made. just a tragedy. you hear about these kinds of things all the time.

Granted, it wasn't real, or really overly realistic to someone familiar with guns, but a real 7.62 round will not be stopped by the car. A lucky block from the frame or hiding behind steel wheels (best bet) is possible, but using a car to block a heavy rifle round is a mistake.

[Whiskey_Sauer]

um. I thought it happened on the sidewalk in front of the field? their squad car is their cover. it sounds like they didn't even give the kid a chance to DROP his toy gun before they started shooting. I understand if youre an leo your life is on the line every single day. but dam, we trust you to make logical, split second decision. and in this instance everyone can agree it was the wrong choice that these officers made. just a tragedy. you hear about these kinds of things all the time.

A wrong decision, in hindisight, but whether it's an unreasonable one under the circumstances is the question which remains unanswered at this point.

And yes, as Artema said, a 7.62 round will not be stopped by a car door. There was no available "cover" as c2ypt1c incredulously suggested there was.

[inbox485]

Alright keyboard warriors. I have an airsoft collection used for FOF and a real collection used at the range. This one's getting pointed at you, and you have less than 2 seconds to bet your life on 00 Buck or 6mm plastic. Go for it:

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