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Calif. Sheriff's Deputies Shoot, Kill 13-Year-Old

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  • oldguy

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    Calif. Sheriff's Deputies Shoot, Kill 13-Year-Old

    SANTA ROSA, Calif. October 23, 2013 (AP)
    AP_logo_update_20130709.gif


    Northern California sheriff's deputies have shot and killed a 13-year-old boy after repeatedly telling him to drop what turned out to be a replica assault rifle, sheriff's officials and family members said.

    Two Sonoma County deputies on patrol saw the boy walking with what appeared to be a high-powered weapon Tuesday afternoon in Santa Rosa, sheriff's Lt. Dennis O'Leary said.
    The replica gun resembled an AK-47 with a black magazine cartridge and brown butt, according to a photograph released by the sheriff's office. Deputies would only learn after the shooting that it wasn't an actual firearm, according to O'Leary.
    Rodrigo Lopez identified the boy as his son, Andy, to a newspaper and said the young teen was carrying a toy gun that belonged to a friend.
    After spotting the boy, the deputies called for backup and repeatedly ordered him to drop the gun, O'Leary said in a news release. It wasn't clear whether he pointed the replica assault rifle at the deputies or made any type of threatening gesture. The sheriff's office referred calls to the Santa Rosa Police Department, which did not immediately return a call for comment.
    O'Leary said the deputies fired several rounds from their handguns immediately after issuing the orders to drop the rifle.
    A neighbor in the area, Brian Zastrow, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat ( Authorities investigate fatal deputy-involving shooting of 13-year-old Santa Rosa boy | The Press Democrat) he heard seven shots.
    "First, I heard a single siren and within seconds I heard seven shots go off, sounded like a nail gun, is what I thought it was," he said.
    The boy fell to the ground on top of the rifle, according to O'Leary. He said the deputies ordered him to move away before approaching him and putting him in handcuffs.
    They began administering first aid and called for paramedics, who pronounced him dead at the scene. Deputies also found a plastic handgun in the boy's waistband, O'Leary said. The deputies, who have not been identified, have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard after a shooting, O'Leary said.
    Community members left candles, teddy bears and flowers at the edge of the field where the teen was shot and questioned deputies' decision to open fire.
    "I'm sure you can tell he's a 13-year-old boy," Abrey Martin told KGO-TV. "He's not some maniac."
    Rodrigo Lopez told the Press Democrat he last saw his son Tuesday morning.
    "I told him what I tell him every day," he said in Spanish. "Behave yourself."
    The family was back at their mobile home Tuesday night after identifying the boy's body, the Press Democrat reported.
    The newspaper quoted the boy's mother, Sujey Annel Cruz Cazarez, as saying, ""Why did they kill him? Why?"
    Andy Lopez was an eighth-grader at Lawrence Cook Middle School, where assistant principal Linsey Gannon said he played trumpet in the band.
    "Andy was a very loved student, a very popular, very handsome young man, very smart and capable,'" she said Wednesday. "Our community has been rocked by his loss."

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/c...-year-20656068
     

    Vaquero

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    Sad.
    When we have teens shooting teachers and each other, I find it hard to fault the officers.

    Still, it's very sad.
     

    txbikerman

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    it is sad, my son has several airsoft guns and it hard to tell the difference looking at them, feel for the officers and the family
     

    benenglish

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    ...my son has several airsoft guns and it hard to tell the difference looking at them...
    Understatement.

    Japanese airsoft replicas are sometimes insanely detailed and correct-looking because (among other reasons) would-be gun collectors over there can't have the real thing so they go for gorgeous replicas. Take the orange off the muzzle and they look absolutely real from even relatively short distances.

    LEOs have to make life or death decisions in a split second. I know I could never do it and my hats are off to the overwhelming majority who make the right decisions so many times every single day.
     

    verge

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    After spotting the boy, the deputies called for backup and repeatedly ordered him to drop the gun, O'Leary said in a news release. It wasn't clear whether he pointed the replica assault rifle at the deputies or made any type of threatening gesture. The sheriff's office referred calls to the Santa Rosa Police Department, which did not immediately return a call for comment.
    O'Leary said the deputies fired several rounds from their handguns immediately after issuing the orders to drop the rifle.

    Based on this article, I don't feel for these officers at all ... there is no proof these 'officers" had any reason to fear for their lives or shoot a 13 year old boy. If this holds up and no threatening gestures were made and he didn't point the "gun" they ought to be arrested and tried for negligent homicide if not murder and violating his civil rights
     

    Mic

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    Based on this article, I don't feel for these officers at all ... there is no proof these 'officers" had any reason to fear for their lives or shoot a 13 year old boy. If this holds up and no threatening gestures were made and he didn't point the "gun" they ought to be arrested and tried for negligent homicide if not murder and violating his civil rights

    If we could trust the media to portray events accurately, I would agree with you because of the immediately. But this is in Calif - pretty sure they dislike police as much as they do guns. I wouldn't put any stock in that little blurb. Officer must feel horrible. Family must feel horrible. This could be one of those horrible cases where you can't really put a finger on a bad person and say it's their fault.
     

    benenglish

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    verge;815589[B said:
    ][/B]Based on this article,
    Based on this article, like most news stories, we don't know anything. I trust about 0% of what I read or see in the media.

    I can be hard on LEOs when they screw up and I won't apologize for that...but it's way too early to judge in this case.
     
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    oldguy

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    Just a thought, possible kid did not understand English, perhaps officers used Spanish but it is a problem in many areas. In any event it is sad IMO.
     
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    txinvestigator

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    After spotting the boy, the deputies called for backup and repeatedly ordered him to drop the gun, O'Leary said in a news release. It wasn't clear whether he pointed the replica assault rifle at the deputies or made any type of threatening gesture. The sheriff's office referred calls to the Santa Rosa Police Department, which did not immediately return a call for comment.
    O'Leary said the deputies fired several rounds from their handguns immediately after issuing the orders to drop the rifle.

    Based on this article, I don't feel for these officers at all ... there is no proof these 'officers" had any reason to fear for their lives or shoot a 13 year old boy. If this holds up and no threatening gestures were made and he didn't point the "gun" they ought to be arrested and tried for negligent homicide if not murder and violating his civil rights
    You are ignorant. Your opinion on this matter is meaningless.
     

    ROGER4314

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    A teacher who was killed recently attempted to talk the killer into giving up his gun. It cost him his life. The correct response would have been to tackle the kid, break his arms and disarm him. Once the kid pulled a weapon, he wasn't a student any more, he was a felon and a potential murderer. Training for our teachers needs to change. If he's armed.....smash him!

    IF the report of the CA shooting in the OP is correct (and it probably isn't), the cops needed to fire. They had no way to know that the gun was a replica. I'm 100% in accord with the position that if you point guns at cops, they have a right.....no....obligation to put you out of action.

    13 years old. They seem to relish pointing to his age. When my father was in Germany during WW2, a German kid tossed a grenade into his Jeep killing two and wounding my Medical Officer Father. Those soldiers were treating German soldiers AND civilians yet the kid felt justified in killing them.

    I don't have a problem with the cops shooting what appeared to be an armed person who refused to give up the weapon.......13 years old or not.

    Flash
     
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    ROGER4314

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    Attempting to tackle someone pointing a gun at you is less than optimal. I don't recommend it.

    OK, then stand there helpless and let him shoot you.

    Flash
     

    hellishhorses

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    Eddy
    You are ignorant. Your opinion on this matter is meaningless.
    +1 I've seen the same "bozo cop bumbles incident, innocent person suffers" stories everyone else has. This is not one of those incidences. I'm not a venom-spitting anti-copper, nor am I a cops-can-do-no-wrong thin-blue liner. I recognize that being a police officer requires a LOT of discretion. LEO are lied to, harassed, walked-on and assaulted daily — not an easy job. I've seen the pictures of the "toy" gun (it is a replica, not a toy) and other than the tip of the barrel missing, couldn't tell the difference between the two. As others have said, trusting the media to provide the facts is naive. IF the boy simply presented the firearm, he should not have lost his life. But who's to say that's the way it really happened?
     

    hellishhorses

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    Eddy
    What happens when toy guns get pointed at LEO:



    And he's a lefty!

    Now everyone here can reasonably see his force was justified. You can't point a gun at an officer and expect him to wait around to see if it's a toy, airsoft, BB or whatever. And most of us in here, aside from the uniform, would applaud his mag-dump and hail "good shoot!". But because he's a cop he's subject to extra scrutiny — rightfully so. But sometimes people forget LEO have a human element and put into a situation ten times, they may do it differently five — and never perfectly. :SHRUGS

    (P.S. Don't get too uppity coppers, I don't always take your side :D)
     
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