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I would also like to point out the Cleveland isn't exactly a city where people are going to assume a gun is fake, especially in that part of Cleveland.
According to this article there were 4 other shootings that night.
They said that one of the people who called it in actually said that it was probably fake more than once.
Man, I wonder what was going through his head? I wonder if he thought that he should throw it to the ground so that they wouldn't see him as armed. He would have been in elementary school and at that age you aren't super aware of what to do when cops tell you what to do. Especially, the way that they yell at you. It can really throw you off and scare the crap out of you. Poor kid. His prank went all kinds of wrong.
They said that one of the people who called it in actually said that it was probably fake more than once.
Man, I wonder what was going through his head? I wonder if he thought that he should throw it to the ground so that they wouldn't see him as armed. He would have been in elementary school and at that age you aren't super aware of what to do when cops tell you what to do. Especially, the way that they yell at you. It can really throw you off and scare the crap out of you. Poor kid. His prank went all kinds of wrong.
I was. I was about the same age when I was playing in the park with a friend. He pulled out a chrome 1911 BB gun (that was broken) from his backpack to show me, because.....well, it was cool. So we're sitting on the bleachers pointing it, thinking we were so cool. But then we start noticing cruisers surrounding the park. As the officers approached, hands on holstered guns, we dropped it right away. They continued to approach, commanding us not to move, and we didn't.
They took the gun, told us what a stupid thing it was to have such a realistic weapon in public, and then went away.
They said that one of the people who called it in actually said that it was probably fake more than once.
Man, I wonder what was going through his head? I wonder if he thought that he should throw it to the ground so that they wouldn't see him as armed. He would have been in elementary school and at that age you aren't super aware of what to do when cops tell you what to do. Especially, the way that they yell at you. It can really throw you off and scare the crap out of you. Poor kid. His prank went all kinds of wrong.
I agree to some extent, but part of the problem might be that the parents aren't recognizing what kids do that can get them into a spot, parents have to be one step ahead. Imagine how the cop feels.
They said that one of the people who called it in actually said that it was probably fake more than once.
Man, I wonder what was going through his head? I wonder if he thought that he should throw it to the ground so that they wouldn't see him as armed. He would have been in elementary school and at that age you aren't super aware of what to do when cops tell you what to do. Especially, the way that they yell at you. It can really throw you off and scare the crap out of you. Poor kid. His prank went all kinds of wrong.
No mention that more than one caller among many said the gun was 'probably fake' after reading two different articles.
Ever hear the multitude of filler news stories of bizarre 911 calls. All the way from not getting cheese on their hamburger to problems with their drug seller? So some random person calls 911 and says the gun is fake and of all the calls made you are to believe this one?. Before you say it should have been a consideration, you are right. The cops would have expected that anyone in their right mind would respond submissively since they knew their gun was fake and the cops 'probably' had real guns. So the kid did not act according to expectation at a time when pondering and guessing on the part of the police had expired and action was required.
Consider also the information that it was on a playground. Kids play on a playground. Get a call about a gangster waving a gun at 'children' and as a cop you want to protect the children in light of school shootings. You have jets on your heels to get there and resolve the situation. How many kids have been killed by stray bullets fired by gangs at rivals? No sane human, as evidenced by numerous 911 calls and the quick response by the cops wanted to see the 'children' hurt. The paper is taking advantage of Furgeson hysteria to fan the flames and get a endless flurry of articles to sell papers for the next 6 months. Who knows maybe rev Al would show up with msnbc cameras, shake their hand and get some reporter wide exposure and maybe the break they were waiting for to get out of Cleveland?.
That speculation fits in nicely with the slant the article created about the shooting.
Cops scream and curse at you to shock you into momentary imobilization, even if just for a moment, in order to gain an advantage when they feel they are in a dangerous situation. That should be clue # 1 the cops feel they are in a critical situation.
If the caller thought it was fake, why call the police?
Mentioning he was a 'juvenile' differentiates the 'shooter' some old guy or woman. Average gang member is 15. A mere child holding an 'equilizer'. Lot of gangs and gang members. Gangs use underage 'children' as shooters to avoid long sentences in prison.
Adding this 911 call makes the situation more inflamatory without more perspective given about the shooting. Of course it ties in nicely with the headline. This is in the best new journalistic tradition of nbc editng a 911 call to make GZ sound 'racist'. The bit about the playground also added to the biased article. Subtle but effective. There are many ways to provide the same information without the bias; this wasn't one of them.
"In a 911 call released by the police, a man said that “a guy” who appeared to be a juvenile was pointing a pistol at people and scaring them. The caller said twice that the gun was “probably fake.”"
Sad story from more perspectives than anyone can imagine.
Definitely over zealous cops( read: careless, stupid, poorly trained) but what idiot parent would buy their child a toy that so easily can be mistaken for a real weapon? Did he steal it? That he took the cap off sounds like he was up to no good with it, but maybe there were mental issues with him.
Had they shot an older teen or an adult brandishing it, I'd be inclined to side with them. The idiot shot and killed in the Wal Mart who was playing with an air soft rifle was more reason for alarm, although the cops in that case too handled the situation poorly. He should have been cuffed and made to feel like a moron and then let go with a warning. Not shot.
The kid needed to have the toy gun taken from him and then given a big plastic bag to play pick up trash from the roadsides with over the course of several weeks. He shouldn't have been shot.
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but part of the problem might be that the parents aren't recognizing what kids do that can get them into a spot, parents have to be one step ahead. Imagine how the cop feels.
