12yo shot and killed by police officer
West Memphis, Arkansas
About a week ago a 12yo (black) pointed (at night) a toy gun at a police officer and was shot twice. The officer (white) had ordered him to drop the gun---he didn't.
The Rev. Al Sharpton will be attending the services. Wonder why?
They ain't gonna be happy until the cop is "hung".
Link
About a week ago a 12yo (black) pointed (at night) a toy gun at a police officer and was shot twice. The officer (white) had ordered him to drop the gun---he didn't.
The Rev. Al Sharpton will be attending the services. Wonder why?
They ain't gonna be happy until the cop is "hung".
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God Bless the family of the teen and the Officer, but from what is said here the Officer was 100% right. And I feel for him because he has to live with what he had to do because of someone elses ignorance. 0 -
I was always taught never point a gun at something/someone unless I plan to shoot. I was also taught to use my commen sense.
its about being raised with morel values, treat others how you want to be treated. OK now you can slam me, I hear it coming.
I am praying for the officer, knowing he is going thru hell.
I will also pray for the family that loss the youngster.
also pray for the soul of the boy, one thing for certain, If it did not happen today, it probably would have happen 5 yrs from now, when he had a real weapon.0 -
quote:Originally posted by beneteau
West Memphis, Arkansas
About a week ago a 12yo (black) pointed (at night) a toy gun at a police officer and was shot twice. The officer (white) had ordered him to drop the gun---he didn't.
The Rev. Al Sharpton will be attending the services. Wonder why?
They ain't gonna be happy until the cop is "hung".
Link
How about we hang al sharpton from the tree of liberty0 -
The parents were negligent so now the boy and the officer suffer. Being brought up in a wonderful home I would have never thought for a second to point a gun of any kind at an officer. I agree that something needs to be done about Sharpton, he is a money/power hungry idiot. 0 -
Well guess I'll be called the anti LEO troll on this one, but I'd say before I go taking up for the cop, I'd need more info. Most of todays toy guns have an orange site on them, and is pretty easy to tell they are a TOY. I'm sure the cop is going through hell, and while I do feel some remorse for him, I"d say AL Sharpton (as much as really cannot stand him) may be in the right on this one. Cant help but wonder what all of the LEO apologist would think if a cop pointed a gun at a non cop, and got shot dead. 0 -
If the kid had a toy gun that did not have the safety orange cap on it, then the cop was 100% right to shoot.
If the kid's toy gun DID have the safety orange cap on it, then the cop was only 99% right to shoot. If I'm a cop, there's no way I'm taking the chance that some perp (no matter how young) just painted his gun to give him a split second to plant me in the dirt.
Al Sharpton needs to dry up and blow away with the rest of the dog s*** out there.0 -
$#!t happens.
Sorry, but if I had a kid, Rule Number One would be, "If you want to get your @$$ shot off, point something that resembles a gun at a police officer when it's dark."
Rule Number Two? "Don't do it if there's a chance I might be hit also."
There is something to be said about COMMON SENSE.0 -
Lets see..... Kid points toy gun at cop. It may or may not have had the orange tip on it. Even if it did, its usually dark at NIGHT.
Might be a little difficult for the ofcr to see under those conditions. Iam sure the investigation will address all those issues.0 -
That has to be one of the toughest
situations a cop has to face.0 -
quote:Originally posted by rong
That has to be one of the toughest
situations a cop has to face.
Well IMO a twelve year old kid is old enough to to understand the seriousness of the situation...
A rational leader would get up on the stump and tell kids what the right thing to do is, if comforted by this situation...of course Mr Sharpton will probably blame the cop as usual, and instead of saving the next kids life will have set him up like a duck in a shooting gallery....0 -
Awful situation all around. High crime area (cops were on a stakeout due to high number of armed robberies in neighborhood) and kids running around at night unsupervised. Cops say he had a toy gun. Family says he didn't. Cops say they yelled at him to drop the "gun" and instead he made some sort of movement they took as a threat. One witness says cops opened fire without saying a word (I find that unlikely). Cop says he fire 2 or 3 shots. That witness says many shots were fired.
So you have two completely different stories from family and from cops. Of course, cops are white and kid was black so Sharpton and Jackson will be in town promoting hatred of whites and stirring up an already tense situation for their own gain.
In my gut I feel like the cop was too quick on the trigger. Given what I know, which isn't much, I don't think the officer was justified in using deadly force. If it was too dark to ID the subject as a 12 year old, how could the cop have perceived this threatening move he says the kid made? Based on what I know, my guess is the cop was jumpy out there in the dark waiting to confront an armed robber (understandable, I'd be jumpy as Hell, too) and overreacted when he encountered the boy.
I think it was an awful, terrible tragedy that could and should have been avoided. Now Jackson and Sharpton will swoop in to make things worse.
Just the other day another AR cop on the other side of the state was sentenced to 90 days for misdemeanor manslaughter. He shotgunned a retarded man he thought was an escaped convict they were seeking. He has admitted he erred, resigned from the state police and plead no contest to charges. Two families devastated.
It's sickening when these things happen, but given the high stress situations that occur in police work, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.0 -
Some gang bangers routinely paint their real guns orange to make the police hesitate long enough that they can get the first shot off.
I feel bad for the kid.
I feel just as bad for the cop.
Damned if you do and DEAD if you don't. Very Sad.0 -
paint real guns orange?
pretty sneaky.
but a 25/30 year old with an orange gun dont hack it.
bang!
and, age cant be determined at night. age is the after-the-fact. it was the threat that the leo was foused on. a gun shape at night.
you fight guns with guns. im very sorry his parents didnt raise him to be wise and didnt have him in at night. the parents are the REAL defective units here.0 -
#1 - High crime area
#2 - Youth out at night (My 12 year olds would be in the house with the family.)
#3 - Kid most likely dressed as a banger
#4 - Kid likely had the toy gun for some crime or protection
#5 - Kid stupid enough to point it at police.[xx(]0 -
So, Not So SharpTON and others will ruin the LEO's life, and run off two or three more well-trained officers (who can't see how they defend their own lives against such an atmosphere), then insist on picking any replacements. These are the tactics of those who would have us believe that they are against racism. 0 -
Shooting what turns out to be a 12 yr old with a fake gun is really bad. even worseis being SHOT by the 12 yr old (Have you guys SEEN some of the 12 yr olds out there?) Heres what the law says in Virginia:
? 18.2-282. Pointing, holding, or brandishing firearm, air or gas operated weapon or object similar in appearance; penalty.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to point, hold or brandish any firearm or any air or gas operated weapon or any object similar in appearance, whether capable of being fired or not, in such manner as to reasonably induce fear in the mind of another or hold a firearm or any air or gas operated weapon in a public place in such a manner as to reasonably induce fear in the mind of another of being shot or injured. However, this section shall not apply to any person engaged in excusable or justifiable self-defense. Persons violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor or, if the violation occurs upon any public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school, including buildings and grounds or upon public property within 1,000 feet of such school property, he shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.
B. Any police officer in the performance of his duty, in making an arrest under the provisions of this section, shall not be civilly liable in damages for injuries or death resulting to the person being arrested if he had reason to believe that the person being arrested was pointing, holding, or brandishing such firearm or air or gas operated weapon, or object that was similar in appearance, with intent to induce fear in the mind of another.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Dennis Smith
It's fun to read the responses from different areas of the country who have no idea what gang-land is like in Memphis. The cop was scared for his life, and he had every right to be scared.
I'll probably get the thread poofed, but this is a scary place to live. Even the parents of these kids are afraid of them. I know it for a fact because I work with some of them.
Gang mentality is bizzare, murder is an initiation rite.
Normal people have no idea what's going on around here. The news media covers it up, and makes the cops look like the bad guys.
Very,very true. Memphis is extremely dangerous. I live in northern Mississippi and do my best to stay out of Memphis.0 -
The Memphis area is rough, and certainly a 12 year old can kill you (but that photo is from Africa, no?) but a police officer has a duty to not shoot children. This was a screw-up.
I have not heard any suggestion that the boy was a gang member. He was just a 12 year old kid out goofing around and that shouldn't be a capitol offense.0 -
Just north of me in Gainsville,........yes home of the Champion Gators!,...........they are having a very bad wave of crimes commited by teenagers with "BB Guns". You guys know how realistic they make those pistols!
They are carjacking folks, and jacking them at ATM's. The police there have already said, it is only a matter of time before one of them is shot, carrying one of those guns, and he is waiting for it to also happen from a CCW carrier that gets jacked by one of them. His opinion is the "victim" will walk, as they should!
They had an incident where they stopped a 14 year old carrying one, and he was almost shot by a cop at about 1:00AM. The "kid" started crying, after being told how close to death he had come!
Give me a break,............what the hell is wrong with the parents![}:)]0 -
I see Saxon finally got his sights adjusted so that he was not hitting low anymore! 0 -
This situation is unfortunately a sign of the times.
It's a sad time when a 12-yr-old doesn't know not to play with something resembling a gun in the vicinity of a police officer in a bad neighborhood.
It is even sadder when police have little choice but to shoot nearly right away or risk losing their own lives.
(at least) two lives are ruined and this will only lead to a further deterioration of trust between the police and citizens, obviously never a good thing.0 -
Kid shoulda put down the gun when told to do so. Shoulda never pointed it in the first place. This is why I teach mine, never point a gun a something unless you want it dead. I don't even allow them to point toy guns at each other/anybody either.
Bad deal, I feel for the family of the kid, and the cop. He shouldn't see any job ramifications over this.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Kimbercolt
I was always taught never point a gun at something/someone unless I plan to shoot. I was also taught to use my commen sense.
its about being raised with morel values, treat others how you want to be treated. OK now you can slam me, I hear it coming.
I am praying for the officer, knowing he is going thru hell.
I will also pray for the family that loss the youngster.
also pray for the soul of the boy, one thing for certain, If it did not happen today, it probably would have happen 5 yrs from now, when he had a real weapon.
here here raised by parents who had same beliefs
raised to listen to police and dont do anyting stupid like tell one to go **** himself or pull a knife or gun on one. i do not know for sure but i would be willing to put money that his mom and/ morethan likely OR dad were very dilinquent in their raising by their parents as well as how they raised their child.
i was raised in a household where guns were hung above the mantle not locked. and even though they were not loaded the thought of even touching them did not occur. it was never an issue of ooh look a huandgun and go and point at thing and say bang, pow got ya your dead. GUNS ARE NOT TOYS IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. even toy guns when pointed at certain people are treated as real. same goes for drugs. if you try to sell oregano as pot and the police catch you they treat it as pot.
i did not shoot guns until i was 17. after i had cleaned 5 years of dust off of my dads rifles and shotys. then i bought my own. and they are treated with absolute and utmost respect.
guns are designed to kill thats what they do0 -
Marc1301- Look closer, it's a different revolver. Handguns usually shoot left for me. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by SaxonPig
Marc1301- Look closer, it's a different revolver. Handguns usually shoot left for me.
Saxon Pig,you're wrong the handguns don't shoot left for you they shoot straight.It's you that shoots left. [:D] [:D] [:D]0 -
i have heard this same situation before. no matter how you look at it this sucks. the poor cop was just doing his job and protecting his life and will suffer for a long time. i grew up with proper gun safty training and even if it was a toy (and we knew the difference toy vs real) if my brothers or i got caught point at someone we got a good old lesson. the poor kid probaby didn't have gun safty taught to him. and this goes further than gun saftey to basic discipline or obeying the law or officer 0 -
quote:Originally posted by bpa098
i have heard this same situation before. no matter how you look at it this sucks. the poor cop was just doing his job and protecting his life and will suffer for a long time. i grew up with proper gun safty training and even if it was a toy (and we knew the difference toy vs real) if my brothers or i got caught point at someone we got a good old lesson. the poor kid probaby didn't have gun safty taught to him. and this goes further than gun saftey to basic discipline or obeying the law or officer
I have a question,If you didn't point your toy gun at anyone how did you play Cowboys and indians? [?]0 -
i know the feeling to a point..i had to draw up on an 8 year old..22 caliber semi auto rifle scoped...laying on a roof on a house playing sniper ..he surrenderd the gun which was not loaded...had he not surrendered[:(] my life is important too 0 -
I'm not going to armchair quarterback without more info .
I will say at age 12 I was over 6', almost 6'1" and although skinny looked rather like an adult . At 12 also knew not to point a gun of any kind at anyone .
I've said it before , I'll say it again .
My mother passed when I was 11 , father at 19 . They taught me the difference between right and wrong .
They did a better job rearing me from the grave than some folks today with a lifetime of parenting .
Very said for all involved . Very said...0
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