Deputy Shoots Teen Carrying Toy Gun In Palmdale

CBS News ^ | 5/11/2009 | AP

[RLM]

Authorities said a 15-year-old boy playing "cops and robbers" with a toy gun was shot and wounded by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who mistook it for the real thing.

[dhm914]

yeah like the retarded kid is crimminal. cops for all the pay and pensions they get, should put their life on the line, not shoot first. too many times we see cops shoot first,

[Travis T. OJustice]

I was thinking girls, fishing , girls,girls,

I was racing motorcycles. I'm a rider, not a biker.

[Old Student]

“eh... why? Seems pointless. In my experiance kids without toy guns will turn leogs, sticks, brooms, hands, or just air into every manner of weapon system. Utterly pointless to deny them actual toys.

FRiend, maybe you should go and reread the title to this thread. Legos, sticks, brooms, and hands are much harder to mistake for a real gun, and much less likely to provoke such headlines. My kids don't play with toy guns that look like real ones, either. We don't “play” with real guns, either, although we do shoot, if not as frequently as I'd like. We don't play with cars, or skil saws, either. Anything that can kill or maim is not a toy.

[Old Student]

My honorary uncle, once a cop on Glendale PD in SoCal, told me that cops see three kinds of people. Cops, civilians, and scum. After they’ve been on the street a bit too long, they only see two kinds of people. Cops and scum. This was over thirty years ago, so I don’t see the situation as having improved in that time...

[TalonDJ]

FRiend, maybe you should go and reread the title to this thread. Legos, sticks, brooms, and hands are much harder to mistake for a real gun, and much less likely to provoke such headlines. My kids don't play with toy guns that look like real ones, either. We don't “play” with real guns, either, although we do shoot, if not as frequently as I'd like. We don't play with cars, or skil saws, either. Anything that can kill or maim is not a toy.

I assume you don't let your kids have bikes or skate boards either. Or go to the pool, or ride in the car, or all the other things that are more likely to get them killed then having a gun that looks vaguely real.

[TheOldLady]

"I assume you don't let your kids have bikes or skate boards either. Or go to the pool, or ride in the car, or all the other things that are more likely to get them killed then having a gun that looks vaguely real."

Yes! I keep my kids in a box on my dresser, and every once in a while I let them play with soft-sculpture toys.

Well, if you're going to take things to ridiculous lengths, I figured I'd see your ridiculous and raise you a just plain stupid.

[TheOldLady]

Yes, it's a heartbreaking shame. I wish that they allowed volunteer work and little gifts from those of us who are on their side, but that's viewed as corruption. If only they could get a dose of decent people every day, things might change.

[PeterPrinciple]

Bottom line, is that the world has changed with increased population and the problems there of. We all have fond memories of the way things used to be, but sad to say things are a little different these days.

Playing with toy guns ain't the same as it used to be................

Another thought is that a 15year old “playing cops and robbers” in palmdale with a realistic looking gun might be role modeling.

[TalonDJ]

Ridiculous maybe, but I see it on par with not letting your kids play with toy guns, or letting them play with toy guns as long as they don’t LOOK too real. Nonsense. The first time I heard of a kid getting shot while carrying a toy gun he had a first generation lazertag gun which other than being black did not look at all real. If you are going to ban those for safety reasons then you would be wise to ban bicycles which kill several orders of magnitude more kids every year.

[TheOldLady]

The point is that children should not be taught to play with guns at all. Guns are not toys. Young children can conflate playing with toy guns and real guns, and they can then hurt or kill themselves or others.

We are not libs here and do not advocate banning anything, forcing the issue, or passing draconian laws. Please don’t leap to that conclusion. We’re just recommending what wise steps we think parents should be taking, and I completely agree with Old Student.

Carrying arguments to extremes (such as stating that since we don’t recommend children play with guns, we should ban bicycles, walking across streets, and riding in cars) is a leftist ploy. JSYK.

[TalonDJ]

Young children can conflate playing with toy guns and real guns, and they can then hurt or kill themselves or others.

No. Not if you teach them gun safety. Unless you are letting them play with high grade replicas suitable for movies then there is no way they are going to confuse the two. The kids that get in trouble are invariably ones that were not taught gun safety. Toy guns ARE toys. Any kid that can not tell the diffence should be kept away from all sharp objects, forks, kitchen knives, electical outlets and most of everything else in a normal house. Millions of us grew up with guns in the house and playing with realistic toys.

[TheOldLady]

Part of gun safety teaching for anyone, not just children, is that you do not play with guns.

These days it is obviously dangerous to let your child out of the house with a toy gun, especially when the perps disguise their guns as toys as mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

You raise your kids, and let others raise theirs. Okay? I don’t have to agree with you, and you don’t have to agree with me.

‘bye.