I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time they’ve done this.
BB guns are much easier to identify (as planted) than the many real weapons police presumably have access to. The stupidity of this particular operation probably played a part in exposing it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the last not to just use whichever real guns they acquired.
I think you're missing the point. Or maybe I am. The BB guns don't need to pass his real when they're found, just so long as they looked real enough that officer could credibly claim they thought their lives were endangered because they thought the shooting victim was holding a real gun rather than the BB gun they were actually "holding".
