Texas PD Receives Death Threats After Shooting Boy

[MJS]

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2...ice-receive-death-threats-after-shooting-teen

Police say they have received death threats since fatally shooting a South Texas 8[SUP]th[/SUP]-grade student who was carrying what appeared to be a weapon, but turned out to be a pellet gun.
Interim Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez told The Brownsville Herald Thursday that the department received threatening phone calls overnight concerning Wednesday morning’s incident at Cummings Middle School, in which 15-year-old Jaime Gonzalez was shot three times by Brownsville police. No one else was injured

Police said the boy was brandishing — and refused to drop — what appeared to be a handgun and that the officers acted correctly. They revealed late Wednesday that it was just a pellet gun that closely resembled the real thing.

And as usual, the cops are damned if they do, damned if they don't. I have to love this:

Jaime’s distraught parents demanded to know why police took lethal action against their son.
"Why was so much excess force used on a minor?" the boy's father, Jaime Gonzalez Sr., asked The Associated Press outside the family's home Wednesday night. "Three shots. Why not one that would bring him down?"

Well, lets break this down:

A) When LEOs are faced with lethal weapons, they are justified in using lethal force.

B) Excessive force? I dont think so. See A

C) 3 shots? Oh yes, shame on us for forgetting that the cops, when under pressure and stress, can shoot with pinpoint accuracy, hitting the kid in the leg, which will render him compliant.

This guy is an *******! Sorry, but instead of giving the cops a bunch of ****, why not take responsibility (yeah I know, its alot to ask of parents) for your kids actions?? Why is this kid carrying around a weapon that looks just like a real gun?

Yes, had this been a real gun, I wonder if the know it alls, would be making the same statements. Something tells me yes.

 

[billc]

I support the police in this, they don't go around looking to kill 8th graders. They were put in a bad situation by really bad luck on the part of the boy. I sympathize with the parents because it is unimaginable having to face a tragedy like that. I wish they would take a moment in their grief and try to understand what the police had to do with the facts they were facing. It is an all around horrible situation. My sympathies to the family and to the officer or officers who had to make that decision.

 

[Grenadier]

They gave that kid every opportunity to put the gun down, with several warnings. It was the kid who decided to point the gun at them in the first place, and when you're faced with that situation, you don't have the luxury of analyzing the weapon to see if it's real or not. For that matter, there are quite a number of cheap air pistols that look virtually identical to their actual firearm counterparts (e.g. Marksman 1010 pistol looks very, very similar to a 1911).

The police don't have an hour or two to analyze every detail about the shooting when it happens. Thus, armchair QB views really don't help the argument against the police.

I'd bet dollars to dimes, that anyone, LEO or not, would fail to discern a firearm from an air gun, if they were only given a few seconds to react, and do it from 10 yards away.

This basically looks like "suicide by cop" to me.

 

[granfire]

My mom had a gas pistol at one time, looking just like the real deal.

Right now I have a couple of BB guns that could look like something real.

Not to mention, BB guns are dangerous: You'll put your eye out kid.


Sorry, but it is not exactly new that cops frown upon having stuff pointed at them, one reason they had to put orange tips on BB guns and cap pistols.

(and yeah, what crummy cops do they have...not being able to shoot the pin out of the gun while it's being waved...)</sarcasm>

 

[Bob Hubbard]

My only question is, did they have any other options, and time to deploy them?

From what I've read/seen, no fault on the cops here.

 

[Tez3]

We've had this a couple of times over here, with people waving around replica guns being shot. The idea I think is that police are supposed to go right up to the person and actually look at the weapon to see if it's real or not. If it's real and they get shot well I suppose that's just tough. Either that or they are supposed to have crystal balls. In films etc the police often shoot 'to wound' and manage to accurately hit a leg/arm/hand while the person is running and dodging, they of course drop their weapon well out of reach and put their hands up, so easy...of course that can be done everyday. Well of course the police are to blame, you can't blame the teenager with the gub can you, poor little boy, yeah right.

 

[Sukerkin]

I have to agree with my fellows points made above. It is very rough on the family of the lad and you have to wonder what on earth he himself was thinking at the time. Simply put, you just don't go pointing things in the direction of armed police officers who are clearly under the impression you are carrying a firearm.

 

[punisher73]

Here is a picture of the gun the kid had

The gun looks real. The police aren't going to know that it's "only" a pellet gun. The kid was shot 3 times by two officers total, that is not many and shows that the police were trying to use restraint to stop him.

The parents are spouting the usual stuff about why couldn't the police just shoot him once to disarm him.

Was he a good kid? Maybe, maybe not. Sounds like from what people have said he was. The issue is that even if you are a good kid, when you make certain choices and do certain things, sometimes you don't get a second chance. It is a tragedy on both sides. The officers involved have to carry that burden with them as well for having to defend themselves.

 

[ballen0351]

The officers involved have to carry that burden with them as well for having to defend themselves.

Thats the part that sucks these officer have to live knowing they shot a kid. Even though I believe it was a Good shoot it still sucks and the last thing any officer wants to do is shoot a kid. Id have a hard time with that if it were me. I had a hard time when I shot an adult with a real gun I can imagine dealing with this. Bad situation for all involved both law enforcment and the family of the kid.

 

[granfire]

That thing looks VERY real....

Refraining from a few smart-A* remarks...they would have to be followed by a 'Too soon?'

 

[punisher73]

That thing looks VERY real....

Refraining from a few smart-A* remarks...they would have to be followed by a 'Too soon?'

It's alot easier to keep telling the public that the "boy" had a "toy gun" instead of showing that he was carrying something that looked like real gun. Only person to blame in this whole incident is the kid of who forced himself to be shot by the police.

 

[MaxiMe]

Only person to blame in this whole incident is the kid of who forced himself to be shot by the police.

Umm Posasibly the parents for not teaching him to comply with an armed authority? Just thinkin.....

 

[granfire]

Umm Posasibly the parents for not teaching him to comply with an armed authority? Just thinkin.....

Let's blame it on TV an the internet....

Barney lied after all: Nobody is THAT special...short bus special, maybe...


(yeah....too soon?)

But seriously, when you stare at the business end of a gun (or two) being an A-hole is really not a good idea!

 

[MaxiMe]

Barney lied after all: Nobody is THAT special...short bus special, maybe...


(yeah....too soon?)

But seriously, when you stare at the business end of a gun (or two) being an A-hole is really not a good idea!

Hmm Death threats against PD (meaning the entire department?) Could quialify as short bus, wearing a helmet and licking the windows special.

 

[MJS]

http://news.yahoo.com/texas-school-shooting-many-questions-loom-234525229.html

Another article. Of course, more bogus parent comments, ie: why didn't they use other methods. Well, A) how do you know other methods were available? People think that those tools, ie: less lethal, are readily availble. Not every officer that works where I do carries a taser, or has a less lethal weapon. Further more, depending on the distance between the officer and the kid, the weapon of choice may not work. B) I guess the parents are avoiding the fact that the cops were justified in shooting and someone said the kid was willing to die.

In any case, its a sad situation, but making threats....foolish IMO.

 

[granfire]

http://news.yahoo.com/texas-school-shooting-many-questions-loom-234525229.html

Another article. Of course, more bogus parent comments, ie: why didn't they use other methods. Well, A) how do you know other methods were available? People think that those tools, ie: less lethal, are readily availble. Not every officer that works where I do carries a taser, or has a less lethal weapon. Further more, depending on the distance between the officer and the kid, the weapon of choice may not work. B) I guess the parents are avoiding the fact that the cops were justified in shooting and someone said the kid was willing to die.

In any case, its a sad situation, but making threats....foolish IMO.

Would you even want to tazer somebody with the finger on the trigger?

 

[ballen0351]

would you even want to tazer somebody with the finger on the trigger?

nope

 

[MJS]

Would you even want to tazer somebody with the finger on the trigger?

No. IMO, the officers did the right thing.

 

[granfire]

It was more of a rhetorical question....