Boy with toy rifle and handgun shot and killed by cops in California

[Ban my account ffs!]

I'm curious to learn what Badger's take on this would be.  If a guy can get 6.5 years for drunk driving and killing a guy in the process... surely this would warrant an equal sentence for the cop who shot the boy?

Just like we tell pedestrians not to venture into a busy roadway lest they be hit by a car... surely we tell our peace officers that they shouldn't just start shooting until they are damned sure there is a threat to their life...

It's all part of the risk we take on when we do things like drink alcohol or try to cross a road or go to school to become a police officer.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Cops are more often than not terrible, and change will only come when the public begins to view them as such.

[They not like us]

Cops are more often than not fascist pigs, and change will only come when the public begins to view them as such.

Hell yeah.

[barfbag]

Cops are more often than not terrible, and change will only come when the public begins to view them as such.

When? Most people I've known have had a negative view on cops.

[Badger]

Cops are more often than not terrible, and change will only come when the public begins to view them as such.

Awesome song, but no.

[Badger]

I'm curious to learn what Badger's take on this would be.  If a guy can get 6.5 years for drunk driving and killing a guy in the process... surely this would warrant an equal sentence for the cop who shot the boy?

Just like we tell pedestrians not to venture into a busy roadway lest they be hit by a car... surely we tell our peace officers that they shouldn't just start shooting until they are damned sure there is a threat to their life...

It's all part of the risk we take on when we do things like drink alcohol or try to cross a road or go to school to become a police officer.

Thanks for asking!

The details are EVERYTHING. Was the cop criminally negligent (or worse)? Was it an honest mistake? What's telling here is everyone seems to be jumping to conclusions based on ideology. "Guns are bad" vs. "Cops are thugs" generally hold sway here over finding out what actually happened.

I'll simply state that cops have to make these snap decisions, and 13 yr olds do shoot cops.

[Ban my account ffs!]

I don't care if cops make a jillion bajillion snap decisions a day.  If they kill someone and it turns out there was no real threat... they should face prosecution.

Perhaps cops would have a better reputation if they didn't seem to enjoy killing innocent Americans and then get away with it!

Let a jury decide if it was negligence or a tragic mistake or something else.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I don't care if cops make a jillion bajillion snap decisions a day.  If they kill someone and it turns out there was no real threat... they should face prosecution.

Perhaps cops would have a better reputation if they didn't seem to enjoy killing innocent Americans and then get away with it!

Let a jury decide if it was negligence or a tragic mistake or something else.

A civil jury will do that, because it's going to civil court.  Don't expect a criminal one in this matter, Snowy.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

They're using a 10 second window of time as a defense/justification of the shooting, but to me, it means they reacted too quickly without assessing the situation and merits a ton of review.

http://news.yahoo.com/california-cops-mistaken-fatal-shooting-boy-unfolded-seconds-053109259.html

[opebo]

Cops most certainly are terrible scumbags, but if they would shoot everybody they saw running around with a gun or a fake gun, perhaps it would eliminate the horrible phenomenon of people having guns and buying their kids toy guns.

[ElectionsGuy]

The police force in this country is officially out of control.

[Badger]

I don't care if cops make a jillion bajillion snap decisions a day.  If they kill someone and it turns out there was no real threat... they should face prosecution.

Perhaps cops would have a better reputation if they didn't seem to enjoy killing innocent Americans and then get away with it!

Let a jury decide if it was negligence or a tragic mistake or something else.

A civil jury will do that, because it's going to civil court.  Don't expect a criminal one in this matter, Snowy.

Or potentially a criminal grand jury.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I don't care if cops make a jillion bajillion snap decisions a day.  If they kill someone and it turns out there was no real threat... they should face prosecution.

Perhaps cops would have a better reputation if they didn't seem to enjoy killing innocent Americans and then get away with it!

Let a jury decide if it was negligence or a tragic mistake or something else.

A civil jury will do that, because it's going to civil court.  Don't expect a criminal one in this matter, Snowy.

Or potentially a criminal grand jury.

I would hope there is one, Badg.

[barfbag]

Cops most certainly are terrible scumbags, but if they would shoot everybody they saw running around with a gun or a fake gun, perhaps it would eliminate the horrible phenomenon of people having guns and buying their kids toy guns.

So you're saying what happened is good?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

The FBI is now investigating......as much as I think their scum, I'll take it.

[Sbane]

The police force in this country really needs to be cut by at least 25% (being conservative here, we could probably cut by much more), so they can actually focus on real threats, instead of killing kids with toy guns or people with a Marijuana plant or two in their backyards.

[7,052,770]

Maybe police departments should raise salaries and hire nerds instead of bullies to be cops in the first place...

[Mechaman]

Why does everyone act so shocked that California cops have shot yet another minority kid?  Have you guys ever seen the movie Die Hard?  It happens all the time!

[Sbane]

Why does everyone act so shocked that California cops have shot yet another minority kid?  Have you guys ever seen the movie Die Hard?  It happens all the time!

Usually not as much of a problem in Northern California. Southern California, on the other hand, is Arizona-lite, of course.

[Link]

Why so much hate towards cops?  You guys realize the majority of cops go their entire career without discharging their fire arm anywhere other than the gun range.  I'm pretty sure even drawing their weapon is a pretty rare event.

Also the parents need to be called out.  I would not let my kid wander around the neighborhood with any gun toy or not.  And I certainly wouldn't let them wander around with a realistic looking gun with no orange cap.

To people saying he's just a 13 year old remember during the same week a 12 year old and 14 year old killed two people.

I don't know the whole story so don't take this as a defense of the cop nor condemnation of the kid.  I'm just saying relax and let the investigation continue.

[Badger]

The police force in this country really needs to be cut by at least 25% (being conservative here, we could probably cut by much more), so they can actually focus on real threats, instead of killing kids with toy guns or people with a Marijuana plant or two in their backyards.

You REALLY think thatls what most cops' job entails? REALLY?!?

The stupid in this thread can't get worse.

[Badger]

Maybe police departments should raise salaries and hire nerds instead of bullies to be cops in the first place...

AUGGHHH!! It got worse! Dear God it got so much worse it hurts!!!

[barfbag]

Why so much hate towards cops?  You guys realize the majority of cops go their entire career without discharging their fire arm anywhere other than the gun range.  I'm pretty sure even drawing their weapon is a pretty rare event.

Also the parents need to be called out.  I would not let my kid wander around the neighborhood with any gun toy or not.  And I certainly wouldn't let them wander around with a realistic looking gun with no orange cap.

To people saying he's just a 13 year old remember during the same week a 12 year old and 14 year old killed two people.

I don't know the whole story so don't take this as a defense of the cop nor condemnation of the kid.  I'm just saying relax and let the investigation continue.

This and why didn't he put the gun down when told?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Why so much hate towards cops?  You guys realize the majority of cops go their entire career without discharging their fire arm anywhere other than the gun range.  I'm pretty sure even drawing their weapon is a pretty rare event.

Also the parents need to be called out.  I would not let my kid wander around the neighborhood with any gun toy or not.  And I certainly wouldn't let them wander around with a realistic looking gun with no orange cap.

To people saying he's just a 13 year old remember during the same week a 12 year old and 14 year old killed two people.

I don't know the whole story so don't take this as a defense of the cop nor condemnation of the kid.  I'm just saying relax and let the investigation continue.

This and why didn't he put the gun down when told?

If the whole thing when down in less than 10 seconds he might not have had time.

[pbrower2a]

Truly tragic. Boys have been playing with toy guns for years and we've never had any trouble. This is horrible for their families.

If the gun looks like a real-live (or should I say, real-death) AR-15 or AK-47 it can create real problems.