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13-year-old boy carrying pellet gun shot dead by police in California
Police in Santa Rosa say they thought the replica firearm the teenager was carrying as he walked to a friend's house was real
Hundreds of people marched through the northern Californian town of Santa Rosa on Wednesday night to demand justice for the death of a 13-year-old boy shot by police while carrying a pellet gun to his friend’s house.
Andy Lopez was killed the day after a 12-year-old boy shot dead a maths teacher and himself at a school in the neighbouring state of Nevada. Two Santa Rosa sheriff’s deputies said they opened fire after repeatedly asking Andy to drop the replica assault rifle, which they believed to be real. The teenager was declared dead at the scene on Tuesday.
According to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, the deputies were driving by when they spotted the teenager walking “with what appeared to be some type of rifle”. Lopez had his back to the officers, who did not realise he was a boy. They called for backup and, they said, ordered him twice to drop the gun. The teenager was around 20-30ft away when he turned towards them. “He was holding the weapon in his left hand,” said Lt Paul Henry of Santa Rosa Police. “He began to turn toward his right in the direction of the deputy, and he moved the gun toward the deputy, and the deputy’s mindset was that he was fearful he would be shot.”
One eyewitness recounted the incident to the news station KGO-TV. “He pulled over to the kid walking and he just opened the door and shot him, three shots,” Ismael Mondragon said.
The boy’s father, Rodrigo Lopez, told reporters his son had borrowed the replica AK-47 from a friend, and was walking to the other boy’s home to return it. “It’s not right what they did to my son,” Mr Lopez said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/13yearold-boy-carrying-pellet-gun-shot-dead-by-police-in-california-8900696.html
Hundreds of people marched through the northern Californian town of Santa Rosa on Wednesday night to demand justice for the death of a 13-year-old boy shot by police while carrying a pellet gun to his friend’s house.
Andy Lopez was killed the day after a 12-year-old boy shot dead a maths teacher and himself at a school in the neighbouring state of Nevada. Two Santa Rosa sheriff’s deputies said they opened fire after repeatedly asking Andy to drop the replica assault rifle, which they believed to be real. The teenager was declared dead at the scene on Tuesday.
According to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, the deputies were driving by when they spotted the teenager walking “with what appeared to be some type of rifle”. Lopez had his back to the officers, who did not realise he was a boy. They called for backup and, they said, ordered him twice to drop the gun. The teenager was around 20-30ft away when he turned towards them. “He was holding the weapon in his left hand,” said Lt Paul Henry of Santa Rosa Police. “He began to turn toward his right in the direction of the deputy, and he moved the gun toward the deputy, and the deputy’s mindset was that he was fearful he would be shot.”
One eyewitness recounted the incident to the news station KGO-TV. “He pulled over to the kid walking and he just opened the door and shot him, three shots,” Ismael Mondragon said.
The boy’s father, Rodrigo Lopez, told reporters his son had borrowed the replica AK-47 from a friend, and was walking to the other boy’s home to return it. “It’s not right what they did to my son,” Mr Lopez said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/13yearold-boy-carrying-pellet-gun-shot-dead-by-police-in-california-8900696.html
I get what you are saying. The situation is incredibly complex and it is true when many of us think of shooting someone in the leg we are assuming that is part of the police training (via Hollywood)
I would like to see the force come up with some viable alternatives to shooting to kill though.
Living in Oakland I have seen profiling and overreaction on the part of the police however I also am well aware of what they are up against. I will never forget the pictures of those two motorcycle (Cal.Highway patrol) lying in the street just 3 blocks from where I taught High school. They had pulled a guy over (who was wanted for raping his 9 year old niece) and he opened fire on them before they even reached his car. He killed two more Oakland officers before they finally brought him down. Sorry, but in a case like that I completely understand how that fear and adrenaline can provoke an overreaction in less volatile situations. I am not offering excuses but they have a very tough job and I for one am grateful they are willing to stand between me and a killer. Nevertheless, there should be consequences(not so much punishment as killing a child and living with that is enough punishment) mostly there should be continuous training and counseling for the officers working in such high stress/traumatic situations.
Additionally, we the public need to increase our awareness and that of our kid's to be very careful and compliant when dealing with police, esp. concerning weapons.
I would like to see the force come up with some viable alternatives to shooting to kill though.
Living in Oakland I have seen profiling and overreaction on the part of the police however I also am well aware of what they are up against. I will never forget the pictures of those two motorcycle (Cal.Highway patrol) lying in the street just 3 blocks from where I taught High school. They had pulled a guy over (who was wanted for raping his 9 year old niece) and he opened fire on them before they even reached his car. He killed two more Oakland officers before they finally brought him down. Sorry, but in a case like that I completely understand how that fear and adrenaline can provoke an overreaction in less volatile situations. I am not offering excuses but they have a very tough job and I for one am grateful they are willing to stand between me and a killer. Nevertheless, there should be consequences(not so much punishment as killing a child and living with that is enough punishment) mostly there should be continuous training and counseling for the officers working in such high stress/traumatic situations.
Additionally, we the public need to increase our awareness and that of our kid's to be very careful and compliant when dealing with police, esp. concerning weapons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3VlMWTJ9GY
Yeah, just shoot him in the leg.....
I think I counted 9-10 shots but there were a couple more loud noises that could have been gun shots.... Lets compromise... 9 rounds, basically point blank, and nobody got shot.
Yeah, just shoot him in the leg.....
I think I counted 9-10 shots but there were a couple more loud noises that could have been gun shots.... Lets compromise... 9 rounds, basically point blank, and nobody got shot.
"Shoot to incapacitate" ..... Great idea on paper, and look at the lives it would save, until it didn't save a life and perhaps killed an innocent bystander.
I like the idea of it, but it's not reasonable. The reasons are many. Physiologically, the body changes in the way it functions when cops enter situations like "man with a gun".
Cops arrive, start shouting directives.... bad guy is not listening, everyone's adrenaline is through the roof.
Look, something happened there that we don't know about. The news did not get the whole story out there.
I like the idea of it, but it's not reasonable. The reasons are many. Physiologically, the body changes in the way it functions when cops enter situations like "man with a gun".
Cops arrive, start shouting directives.... bad guy is not listening, everyone's adrenaline is through the roof.
Look, something happened there that we don't know about. The news did not get the whole story out there.
I've often wondered that myself.
Why are cops always in "shoot to kill" mode?
I know there are situations where adrenaline takes over, and I get that, really I do.
But this situation? Really?!?
Shoot him in the leg, or in the arm, or in the foot/hand.
"Shoot to incapacitate" vs "shoot to kill"... I think it's a valid view.
Why are cops always in "shoot to kill" mode?
I know there are situations where adrenaline takes over, and I get that, really I do.
But this situation? Really?!?
Shoot him in the leg, or in the arm, or in the foot/hand.
"Shoot to incapacitate" vs "shoot to kill"... I think it's a valid view.
I don't know. Sometimes it seems like things are much worse now but sometimes it seems like it is more related to our access to the news and the way the media exploits our interest and horror over these events that make it seem like it is increasing.
After all, in the fifties there were lynchings and killings and serial killers and child molestation going on but it wasn't really talked about as much.
The mass killings do seem to be on the rise though and I can only speculate but it seems to be a combination of the infatuation with assault weapons as a result of these terrible video games, children who are not really being raised by anyone except the media they are exposed to and the antihero status some ppl seek in being a notorious killer.
I am generally sympathetic to cops because they never know what they are going to face when they pull someone over and that fear cannot help but make them a little trigger happy. I do understand how they may have been fearful the boy would shoot them but they should be trained in how to deal with an issue like this in a non lethal manner.
After all, in the fifties there were lynchings and killings and serial killers and child molestation going on but it wasn't really talked about as much.
The mass killings do seem to be on the rise though and I can only speculate but it seems to be a combination of the infatuation with assault weapons as a result of these terrible video games, children who are not really being raised by anyone except the media they are exposed to and the antihero status some ppl seek in being a notorious killer.
I am generally sympathetic to cops because they never know what they are going to face when they pull someone over and that fear cannot help but make them a little trigger happy. I do understand how they may have been fearful the boy would shoot them but they should be trained in how to deal with an issue like this in a non lethal manner.
I think maybe if it had been a 5 or a 7 year old walking down the street it would be a different situation maybe? Usually by the time a kid is 13, they have given up playing with the toy guns for the most part? But I also think the cops are getting trigger happy in this day of gun freedom. And that is not okay either. Seems lots of kids are getting killed as a result of our new found freedoms, or is that just me that feels that way?
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