Soldato
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They didn't. He'd removed the orange paint or orange tip that signifies it's a BB gun.
Justified or gun happy?
- Thread starter Kronos
- Start date
They didn't. He'd removed the orange paint or orange tip that signifies it's a BB gun.
So you can't see the problem with someone being able to wave a gun around in public with impunity, purely because the tip is painted orange?
It's not such a concern for handguns where they can be easily concealed, but imagine if you could easily walk down the road with an assault rifle and the police don't bother to take an interest just because the barrel has been painted orange?
This^ makes it seem even more of a sad story
Lad just playing in the park, panicked when ordered to put his hands in the air, shot dead.
Thread has descended into a bit of a nitpick fest, but we shouldn't lose sight of where the blame for this death really lies. It's not the boy playing with a toy gun, the police being on heightened response as soon as "gun" comes into the scenario, or the bystander who reported it. It's the gun culture of the USA which set this up.
Can't really rely on press descriptions but it sounds like this potentially was avoidable - both the dispatcher failing to pass on the information that the pistol is probably fake and the police perhaps being a bit trigger happy... he was holding the weapon but didn't point it at them - not clear at all what exactly happened there but body cameras really ought to be used by police these days so incidents like this can be analysed. A 12 yr old doesn't just wave around a pistol in his hand, they're reasonably heavy for a kid unlike a plastic toy... probably why the caller said it was probably fake... though in the heat of the moment the police officers won't necessarily spot that. Can't really judge whether they were right to shoot or not - it is plausible they were and it is also plausible they screwed up.
By large it doesn't really matter what the chances are of the gun being fake. There is a chance it might not be. Therefore no chances are taken.
It's unlikely a 12 year old would shoot people. But there is a chance, and quite a few example of youngsters doing so. So no chances are taken.
It's a tough line, but it's the line.
It's not even a secret. Police openly admit that of you carry an firearm (real or not) and armed response is dispatched they will shoot to kill if you do not listen to strict instructions.
It's unlikely a 12 year old would shoot people. But there is a chance, and quite a few example of youngsters doing so. So no chances are taken.
It's a tough line, but it's the line.
It's not even a secret. Police openly admit that of you carry an firearm (real or not) and armed response is dispatched they will shoot to kill if you do not listen to strict instructions.
I'm not sure quite how much the police would base their response on a member of the public saying "it's probably fake"...
I disagree. A 12 year old may not be thinking straight, or realize the mavity of the situation, and do something very very stupid. More likely than not.
Soldato
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With regards to the fact that the kid had managed to get rid of the orange paint denoting this weapon as a replica, by having that orange paint people assume that he is carrying a replica. What if you had a real version, and then just painted the tip orange. Would that be fine??
Seems pretty mad! They really should do something else to make these guns stand out. Transparent weapons seems like the best bet because you can't really fake it being anything other than fake.
Seems pretty mad! They really should do something else to make these guns stand out. Transparent weapons seems like the best bet because you can't really fake it being anything other than fake.
This was covered in one paper by the police. By enlarge they ignore that indicator, as there has been cases where people have painted real guns to have an orange tip.
Only material fact they use is 'do they have a firearm'.
Even having transparent ones wouldn't be easy from a distance. This kid had a gun that fired pellets. It wasn't just a toy gun. So it would have a firing mechanism of some sorts in there.
not sure....put that toy in the hands of a little blonde girl aged 12 in the UK.
You think she would get shot ?
If she didn't put her hands up as instructed, and instead reached for the gun, then quite possibly, yes.
Has it ever happened ?
have they ever shot a little blonde girl for playing with a toy ?
Nobody knew it was a toy.
you could have just answered the question.
It was a stupid question. Of course the police wouldn't shoot if they knew it wasn't a real gun. The fact is, they didn't, so had to assume the worst.
it's not a stupid question, you have put knew it wasn't a real gun part in yourself.
which part of that stops it from being a toy ?
go look in a toy store and you will find lots of toy guns copied from real guns...some more realistic looking than others. doesn't stop them from being toys.