Sheriff's deputy will NOT be charged for shooting dead 13-year-old child.

Associated Press and Daily Mail Reporter ^ | Updated: 10:09 EST, 8 July 2014 | Staff

[Rabin]

Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputy Erick Gelhaus shouted then shot (dead 13-year-old Andy Lopez on October 22, 2013), Eric fired eight rounds. The hit / miss order can never be known. What is known is that Andy had failed to orange tip the bb-gun and that he never returned fire. Forensic indicate the 73 lb. perp took three 44 hollow points in the back and right side (falling?) plus four horizontals, head , neck lower...

[ClearCase_guy]

Cuts no ice with me. I would make the following points:

1) Cops are hired to work a dangerous profession. That's the core of the job. They now seem to want to gun down dogs and civilians at a moment's notice so that the cops face only a minimum amount of danger. That's a real bad deal for anyone who is not a cop.

2) Having a gun is not a crime. If the person hasn't fired the gun at anyone, then it is possible they have not committed any crime. In some cases, the cops are predicting future events and appointing themselves judge, jury and executioner, based on what they think is going to happen. That's a real bad deal for anyone who is not a cop.

[Washi]

Let me guess: you work in law enforcement.

[Patriot Babe]

If he was jumpy perhaps it is due to his tour of duty in Afghanistan or somewhere. From what I heard about this deputy was that he just return recently from the Middle East prior to the shooting, so who knows.

[HMS Surprise]

Cops at every level have lost their minds.

[Uncle Chip]

It is legal to carry a rifle openly in California but cities like Santa Rosa can and have made it illegal.

[Uncle Chip]

I’m not a firearms expert and I didn’t stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night — but I can tell the difference.

How about you???

Gelhaus is a firearms expert training the police in the use of their weapons and you are saying that he couldn’t tell the difference???

He didn’t quickly notice the cheap gray metal, the screws in the shiny plastic stock with screws in it, the absence of a sight on the barrel which is indicative that it’s a pellet gun with the orange tip cut off, and that it was lightweight being carried in the left hand — the offhand???

He mustn’t have been close enough then to see and thus not close enough to be in fear of his life.

Or he didn’t see the toygun because the kid still had his back turned.

He didn’t want him to turn around completely because then his partner might have yelled “it’s a toy” and he would lose his excuse to empty his weapon into him.

[Uncle Chip]

Police Love Lewinski:

http://www.citypages.com/2010-04-28/news/bill-lewinski-defends-cops-accused-of-excessive-force/

[PLMerite]

"I’m not a firearms expert and I didn’t stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night — but I can tell the difference."

This Kalashnikov "variant" was cobbled together out of scrap metal, including a shovel. It shoots. You wanna bet your life on counting screws in the stock in the few seconds it would take for the guy to start gunning your brains out?

[Uncle Chip]

I’ll bet no 78 pound kid would be able to carry that very far in his left hand.

Is that the best you can do???

[PLMerite]

"I’ll bet no 78 pound kid would be able to carry that very far in his left hand."

You're asking someone to make a lot of calculations in their head in a short amount of time. An airsoft AK weighs 5.7 lbs. A real AK, loaded, weighs a little over 9 pounds. That's a little more than a gallon of milk.

I'll wager you this isn't an Airsoft, and this kid totes it all day long.

[sport]

You were present, at the shooting, Right? That was a stupid question because of course you were. You heard the deputy shout at the kid numerous time to put down the weapon. And since you were there, could you explain why the trainee,whom one would expect to be nervous and triggerhappy because of his lack of experience in confronting armed and dangerous criminals, never fired his weapon.

[sport]

Gelhaus knows in his heart that he murdered the kid. Each time he goes to sleep he knows that. Sooner or later it will get to him. I put in the last sentence because studies revealed that the Einsatzgruppen ‘police” eventually went mad from machine gunning civilian's [mostly Jews] day in and day out. It takes time, but like poison, it eventually works its course.

[freeandfreezing]

The suspect is turning to face you with this in his hand. Think quickly.

Yep, thinking is the important part. Not getting carried away with your emotions and starting shooting before you really know what is going on. I have personally had a few sudden encounters with armed people, including one instance where a guy came running towards me down the alley I was parked in with a pistol in his hand. I was alarmed, but I certainly didn't think shooting at him was the proper course of action, and he was facing me and had a drawn and obviously real weapon.

Don't let your fear overwhelm your logical thinking. Otherwise the guy with the gun in the alley might not have the chance to say "don't worry, I'm a police officer" like the guy did as he went past me.

[Uncle Chip]

You're asking someone to make a lot of calculations in their head in a short amount of time.

He had all day not a short period of time. He's the one who chose to shoot within 10 seconds of seeing the kid -- and then emptied his weapon -- not a double tap -- but a full clip without giving the kid a chance to even fall to the ground without being shot a half dozen more times.

An airsoft AK weighs 5.7 lbs. A real AK, loaded, weighs a little over 9 pounds.

Is that loaded or unloaded?? How much would it weigh with a full clip -- another 5 lbs???

Even empty it's a pretty big difference especially when carrying it in the offhand clasped over the firing mechanism.

And that was just one of many clues that this vaunted firearms expert ignored.

And you will notice that the kid in picture is carrying his gun with two hands and a shoulder strap.

[Brooklyn Attitude]

“I don’t see how anyone can blame the officer at all.”

Of course you don’t. You probably also didnt see how anyone could blame the cops for shooting a couple of white women in a pickup truck of the wrong make, model and color when they were looking for a black male. They were also found to have acted correctly because they were scared.

A competent cop takes into account the demeanor of a person before shooting them. Is he angry, does he appear menacing, agitated, or just turning around to see who is talking to them? Was he in a position to fire the weapon or just holding it? By your account if someone buys a rifle from a neighbor and is walking back to his house and the cops pull up behind him he could be shot just for turning around.

[GeronL]

bump

[ltc8k6]

Of course you could be shot for turning around to face an armed person with a rifle in your hands...

That seems obvious.

As far as the paper carriers, nice try, but no one could agree with that shooting and I certainly didn’t. My comments on it are not hidden.

I don’t agree with shooting this kid either. I said I didn’t see how anyone could blame/convict the cop for reacting the way he did.

[Trailerpark Badass]

The whole reason the orange tip was cut off...to make it look more realistic. That's the whole point of these Airsoft guns. Not accepting the obvious fact that the toy looks quite real makes you look strident and irrational.

And yes, I would come pretty close to "firearms expert," at least on this board.

[Uncle Chip]

And if you are a police officer and a gun expert and can’t tell the difference between the toygun and the real one then you shouldn’t be emptying your gun into the carrier 10 seconds after spotting him.

[Trailerpark Badass]

I wouldn't disagree, but I would add there are a couple reasons I can think of why a teen would want his toy gun to look more realistic, some innocent, some not.

Regardless, it's certainly not wise.