Free Republic

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. 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...

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. A police sergeant with the Port Canaveral Police Department has been fired after it was discovered he was conducting practice with targets resembling Trayvon Martin wearing a hoodie, reports CBS Orlando affiliate WKMG. Sgt. Ron King, who had been with the Port Canaveral police force for two years, was fired for allegedly using them as target practice. "Whether it was his stupidity or his hatred, (this is) not acceptable," said Port Authority interim CEO Jim Walsh. Walsh said it happened at a training exercise earlier this month. King was teaching a shooting course to other officers and...

A Port Canaveral police officer out of a job after allegations he brought targets resembling Travyon Martin to a gun range is speaking out. Sgt. Ron King was terminated by Port Canaveral’s police chief Friday. He released a videotaped statement on Youtube late Saturday evening.

What if I told you police in your town could desensitize themselves to the idea of shooting a (armed) child, pregnant woman, or young mother, for just a couple of bucks? The "No More Hesitation" series from Law Enforcement Targets Inc. offers exactly that. For less than 99 cents per target, police can shoot at real-life images "designed to give officers the experience of dealing with deadly force shooting scenarios with subjects that are not the norm during training." Update: The marketing team at Law Enforcement Targets, Inc. sends along this helpful explanation for the "No More Hesitation" series: "The...

A shooting target company is now providing “realistic” targets depicting pregnant women, elderly men, young women, and children. An interview with a company representative revealed that the targets were made available upon request by law enforcement agencies. The company has to date received $5.5 million in contracts from DHS. pregnant woman target

Law Enforcement Targets, Inc., a company that sells law enforcement and federal agencies “realistic” paper targets for firearms training, is providing the Department of Homeland Security with images of “non-traditional threats.” The people in these images are most likely Americans, with such images as “’pregnant woman threat,’ ‘older man with shotgun,’ ‘older man in home with shotgun,’ ‘older woman with gun,’ ‘young school aged girl,’ ‘young mother on playground,’ and ‘little boy with real gun,’” writes Paul Joseph Watson on Tuesday. View slideshow: Law Enforcement Target's Non-Traditional Threat targets It would appear as if this company is trying to help...