Posted on 04/04/2005 3:25:36 PM PDT by SmithL
Well I suppose that until MindReading becomes a pre-requisite for Police Officers, they will just have to kindly ask the suspects if the gun is a replica.
At one in the morning, in a dark street... a replica looks identical to a real gun. Even in broad daylight, a replica will look the same. Hence the term "replica".
Very possible, but I still cannot fathom a situation where an adult will pull a fake gun on a cop. If this was a child, I would understand and support the cops for shooting the kid. I have a high level of suspicion that this story is concocted.
I would really hate to read your post if this person was Black with a toy pistol.
Whew... it was just so difficult to search google. Perhaps the econ school you graduated from doesn't teach basic internet skills.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14213667&BRD=1078&PAG=461&dept_id=151025&rfi=6
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/crime_courts/11237243.htm
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207~12026~2779442,00.html
http://www.thenewmexicochannel.com/news/4254214/detail.html
I'm curious, which school did you graduate from?
Only problem with the "cops planted it" theory is that it assumes that a LEO is dumb enough to try to use a replica as a "drop gun" knowing that it would generate the exact sort of skepticism it has on this thread. Trust me on this one, folks, untraceable guns are easy to find, and to a police officer easier than to most of us. A cop using a replica as a drop gun would be as dumb as a perp pulling one on a cop. It isn't conclusive, of course, but in a stupid contest I'd be betting on the shootee in this case, not the shooter. Just IMHO. Could be wrong.
e-g, there is something wrong with the logic used above. You are perfectly willing to believe that no one would be stupid enough to pull a fake gun, yet you are willing to believe that two cops would be stupid enough to plant a fake gun?
I do not know what happened other than what I have read here. I am willing to give two cops the benefit of the doubt, over this guy, until such time as I see any evidence that conflicts with their story.
Let me know if you find any (meant in all seriousness).
Look at the positive side: the average IQ in San Diego has gone up a bit.
Heck, I can't fathom why people do the things they do. I could write a book about all the stupid things I've seen on the job. Why waste the pepper spray if you're just going to shoot the guy? The use of force was escalated properly by using the spray initially. The only one who can answer why he pulled out the fake gun isn't available. I'd reckon an autopsy will show some level of alcohol and/or drugs in this guy which contributed to his decision making inability. It's been great crossing paths with you but I need to get going.
That stuff works great on me too.
Read the story again... s-l-o-w-l-y
I am not saying that they planted it. It is very possible that he had a fake gun in his possession. It was probably his kid's. I am saying that the cops saw the gun in the car and probably saw him reaching in that general direction (not necessarily trying to get the gun), didn't take any chances and shot him.
What color is the sky on your planet?
A "24-year minivan driver"? I understand digging your ride and all, but that's a long time to be behind the wheel of anything. Now I'm really confused! ;-)
BTW, if the writer intended to refer to the age of the driver, rather than the minivan, he should have phrased his sentence thusly: "Police shot and killed the 24-year-old driver of a minivan." English-speaking editors are a writer's best friend.
Try putting yourself in the cop's shoes. You've just pepper sprayed someone. He's flailing around, then pulls something out that looks like a gun. At that point it does not mattter if the guy is drunk/the pillar-of-the-community/high on crank/whatever, he's a dead man. Job #1 is to go home with no extra holes in you.
If this was a child, I would understand and support the cops for shooting the kid.
Man, your logic is really skewed on this matter. I get the feeling that the cops would be wrong in your mind if this guy brought out a bazooka.
I keep my car "papers" (in Texas that's just a proof of insurance, since the registration is window sticker) in with my owners manual, in the pouch behind the driver's seat. Sometimes, on long road trips, I keep my billford on the seat beside me. I always ask/tell the officer before I reach behind me or to the seat beside me. I show them my CHL too of course. Perhaps this guy did something similar, but forgot that last and very important step, being distracted by the mace in his eyes.
Or it could just be suicide by cop.
However, this is at least the third "fake gun" (Read TOY) story in the last week. One was a raid on a convience store in, IIRC, the Chicago area for selling perfectly legal toy guns, and the other was K_Mart and CVS (pharmacy) paying stiff fines to NY City for the same thing.
Could have been a VW bus, which is just minivan with the engine in the back. Lots of those running around SF, at least in the old "flower power" days. Some are still around, somebody who works in the same building I did until October has a lead pencil orange-yellow one.
That's pretty spooky. All 3 of 4 within the last 10 days, plus the SF one that is the subject of the thread. The other is less than a month old. I know it's a big country, but did someone put some stupid juice into the water or what.
The Old Volksie was known as the "Minibus". The "minivan" nomenclature was introduced with the Chryslers in '83.
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