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It is none of those which only proves that it's none of those.

Here is a pic of the gun at the scene. No orange tip.

http://rt.com/files/news/20/df/40/00/rtx14ld1.jpg

Link only, can't post Reuter's pics.

No matter how many articles you find in a search every one says it didn't have an orange tip and no one has disputed that.

Friends question killing of boy who had fake rifle
No orange tip on replica
Federal law requires replica guns to have an orange tip, but Andy's toy rifle didn't have one.

"No matter how many articles you find in a search every one says it didn't have an orange tip and no one has disputed that."

My dad was a Korean vet, fought in Detroit during the '67 riots, and was an MI state cop. I know how this works, not from movies, but living with the force. You think there is no way a cop would tamper with evidence? That is at best seriously naïve, most likely ignorant. Not stupid, just lacking in knowledge.

That's an interesting article that you referenced.

How many times do we need to read about trigger-happy "fearful" COPS shooting whatever they fear and then getting away with it? Do you see any problems with the long string of tragedies like this?

My dad had to fight an urban war in Detroit and he actually shared some of the brutality with us kids. He was really torn up about the open warfare against fire fighters and cops. But, he acted in the most highly restrained manner possible. You can look up the stats on causalities from snipers and other perps against innocents, versus cops against perps. It was a very different world back then - when "serve and protect" really meant it...:

At a news conference, Santa Rosa police officers involved in the investigation held up Andy's pellet gun alongside a real AK-47 assault rifle.
Lt. Paul Henry said that after deputies pulled in behind the boy, one shouted for him to put the gun down, then fired several shots.
"One of the deputies described that as the subject was turning toward him the barrel of the assault rifle was rising up and turning in his direction," he said. "The deputy feared for his safety, the safety of his partner and the safety of the community members in the area."
'I don't think it was fair'
Friends and family members of the boy, though, said he would have simply put the gun down if given a chance.
The replica firearm belonged to a friend, they said, and Andy liked to join others in playing games with low-power air guns. They said the deputies should have recognized they were confronting a teenager - and that the gun wasn't real.

“Federal law requires replica guns to have an orange tip”

That has to be on manufacturer and retail sales for new units only. There are plenty of “airsoft” stores selling 2nd hand units that look like the real deal.

Airsoft has become the generic term for electric gun shooting plastic bb.