Posted on 10/31/2013 11:20:32 AM PDT by Uncle Chip
Edited on 10/31/2013 11:22:17 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
SANTA ROSA - Santa Rosa police released more details today in response to persistent questions about the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy in southwest Santa Rosa last week....
Henry said Gelhaus said he knows he yelled at least once to Lopez to drop the rifle, but Gelhaus said he is unsure whether he identified himself as a sheriff's deputy.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
So -- No Dashcam
Oh, right. What a coincidence.
Lopez? so no reverend al, no reverend jesse? Is this a White Hispanic? Is that why the media is not on fire with it?
Gelhaus said he is unsure whether he identified himself as a sheriff’s deputy.
FIRE HIM IMMEDIATELY.
if he cant do his job he doesnt need to have that job
And I can easily see a startled 13 year old boy raising the rifle up and saying it is not a real gun. Officer 'jumpy' sees the raised gun - considers it an aggressive act - and shoots him dead (7 shots, if I am not mistaken).
To Serve and Protect...
The kid had been told by buddies that patrol cars were cruising the area as part of patrol.
A sad coincidence the 24 years in service deputy and a SWAT and firearms training instructor met.
Time to stand down in America? Santa Rosa is no worse of a hellhole than many other communities in the area.
A sad state of affairs any way ya cut it.
Paid vacation/administrative leave.
PS...this supposed firearms expert managed to shoot himself in the leg in a previous incident.
This COULD be 'suicide by cop' but my spidey sense tells me the cop overreacted and has a 'war hero' complex. If the kid raised the 'firearm' towards the cop, GAME OVER, but this all happening within 10 seconds requires THOROUGH investigation. An AK47 round can easily go through the door of a vehicle, so I have to give the benefit of the doubt to the Sheriff, as much as I don't trust them.
Yes, this is a very disturbing story. I’d think there were a number of steps to take before you open fire. And what is this not remembering if he said he was a cop? Isn’t that second nature?
All right, all right.. I don't know what to think.
Based on what we’ve learned so far, the LEO should be before a firing squad without even a trial. The kid didn’t have one, and he wasn’t even committing a crime...
I'm thinking prison time. Decades.
got a link???
Sorry. I do NOT give the cops the ‘benefit of the doubt’ when they engage American citizens under far looser rules of engagement than do our soldiers in Afghanistan when THEY engage TERRORISTS!!!
That’s right! A freaking Taliban TERRORIST gets more consideration from the US government as to their ‘rights’ than does a 13 year old boy playing in his own neighborhood in suburban America.
See, if this kid has been in Afghanistan carrying a REAL Ak-47 he would not have been shot unless he fired first. And if he had been shot first the US soldier would be tried for a crime.
Therefore, so should this deputy be tried for a crime.
I agree the cop should be fired for failing to ID himself, but allegedly the kid turned with gun raised. This could have been inadvertent, but a threatening move nonetheless.
According to this article it was a police Drive-By shooting. By the time the car came to a rest the target was down.
That’s probably the way it happened. I also wonder about appearances. How big or tall was this kid? Not that it justifies the shooting, but some of today’s 13 year old boys are as big as adults. But yes, I can see how the boy might swing around to face this threat with his gun inadvertently pointing up. I refuse to believe we suddenly have tons of trigger happy officers who have always been secretly nuts, or got that way on their own. Everybody’s crazy? Really?
Something with the way they are chosen or trained is very different now than 20 even 10 years ago. This is the case across this country. System wide decisions have been made to become and to remain prepared, even expecting to use lethal force. With street gangs, credibility is obtained after a certain amount of ‘kills’. One can only hope the police are not trained to observe the same credo.
and who doesn’t turn around if someone with a bullhorn behind them orders them to do something?
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