Posted on 01/10/2014 7:22:26 PM PST by kiryandil
New details have come to light in this weekend's deadly officer-involved shooting outside a Yakima car wash.
YPD said the officer shot and killed Rocendo Arias because he saw him holding a gun in his car. Arias took a bullet to the head.
Investigators said Yakima Police Officer Casey Gilette saw a suspicious car parked at a car wash. After noticing it hadn't moved for an hour, YPD said Gilette approached Rocendo Arias's car. First on the driver's side, then the passenger's side and opened the door. The officer told investigators he saw Arias holding a gun.
"It appeared that he had some accessories to the handgun that he was trying to install on it or put pieces of this gun together," said Yakima police Captain Rod Light.
Gilette shot four times, hitting Arias once in the head. YPD Spokesperson Rod Light maintains the officer had reason to react.
"The deceased had the weapon not only in his hand, but he also had his finger on the trigger," said Light.
However, investigators learned that Arias' weapon wasn't a typical gun. It was an Airsoft gun, considered a replica that shoots plastic pellets. While these guns can fire at high velocity, they're not designed to be lethal. YPD said it's not clear if Arias pointed the gun at Gilette before the shooting...
(Excerpt) Read more at kimatv.com ...
“Airsoft” has become the generic term for an air gun that shoots plastic bb’s. There are foreign companies that sell “airsoft” guns that look like the real guns and legions of airheads in the “airsoft” culture that wouldn’t be caught dead with an orange tipped gun (bad pun intended).
Really -- you could see his finger in the dark of night.
One other thing: Which way was the gun pointing when you illegally pulled the car door open and shot him???
I guarantee that it was pointing away from the officer because if it was toward him you would have blabbed it to all the papers -- the orange tip was pointing toward the officer -- he feared for his life.
Right. I agree. The deceased, however, was just sitting in his own little peasant car, minding his own little peasant business, when Officer Friendly Roid-Rager yanked his passenger door open, and blasted him without a by-your-leave.
Maybe it was a Youtube video that caused this young man to get shot...
Peasants are target practice and we are in a virtual free-fire zone at times without knowing it.
Heck, when I was sitting behind a .50 cal BMG, I often could not shoot back even when tracers went zipping past, until we were given clearance to fire back.
Cops seem to have clearance to open up on just about anything that loosely fits whatever their rules book says might be a threat. Like that kid near SF a few months ago.
There is more than just seeing the finger on the trigger, he could also see that the guy either had the gun disassembled or was adding accessories. Despite there being enough light to see and notice all those things, he just could not make out the bright orange ring on the muzzle.
I would love to hear his explanation for that under oath.
The truth has been murdered just after the victim...
“The cop got to go home safe at the end of his shift, according to the badgelickers, that is all that matters....”
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It’s funny...I did a quick scan of the comments and the “usual suspects” bootlickers have not shown up to defend the homicide committed by this cop.
Maybe it’s beginning to dawn on them (after more, and more, and more of these cop shooting stories continue to come out) that the cop “barrel” has some VERY bad apples in it-—and the rot is spreading in the absence of bad apple removals.
The jackboot being the sharp as a bowling ball fellow it sounds like, DID see the orange tip of the air soft but he quickly decided....that the orange was a muzzle flash of a real handgun firing! And away we go, again.
Too many incidents like this are getting reported. Where are these guys getting their training and who’s training them ? Wrongfull death suit and this fool goes down rightfully so. In fact since he observed him from the drivers side and then went to the passenger side and opened the car door sounds like he didn’t even identify himself which he should have done on the driver side where he’s suppose to approach from.
Patience, the story has not been posted long, and it is Friday night after all. Fairly late for you mainland FReepers............
I'm not at all a fan of these cops but I will give them slack when a gun or object resembles one is entered the fracas then the cops have a right to defend themselves.
In what way did the shooting victim enter the gun into the fracas?
And if someone had a real gun in this situation and killed a cop, it would probably be on page 6 of the paper.
How do you think you would react if you had a split second to decide on whether someone was about to shoot you or not?
So easy to second guess the cops when one has never been there.
“They haven’t interviewed the officer yet and they don’t want to speculate....”
The cop is home concocting his story. If it were you or, we would be down at the station house being sweated for “our story.” This murderer with a badge will skate.
They have been instructed to NEVER have them out at night, especially not in an area where access is not completely controlled, and any neighbors are OK with them playing.
I have related to them that there have been a number of incidents like this, where someone with an airsoft gun gets shot because the airsoft is mistaken for the real deal by a nervous policemen.
I have further instructed them that if anyone shouts words to the effect of 'Drop the weapon" to immediately drop the toy, hold very still, and keep their hands in plain sight while shouting "It's a toy!".
There is absolutely no resemblance between a muzzle flash (even at night) and the orange ring around the muzzle of these toys. No one who has seen a muzzle flash would make such a statement, unless they were certain they could BS someone with it.
I like that: “trained to put three center mass”.
The officer fired FOUR rounds and only one hit the victim.
WTG Yakima PD
Criminals routinely alter the orange ring on replicas so that victims believe that the weapon is an actual firearm.
You took my gag post seriously?! LOL!! My ‘muzzle flash’ joke went right over your head did it? Good grief.
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