That was not a 13 year old ‘Baby’. The kid was almost adult size, he held what appeared to be a gun, and most importantly, would not put it down when asked repeatedly to do so. I have nothing against legal carrying, but be ready to deal with legitimate questions from cops, it’s going to happen. Don’t play debating games with police who have been called because someone in that neighborhood looked suspicious. That is their job to find out who’s doing what. Some folks will purposely alter a BB gun or toy replica so that it’s very similar to a real one. Many homeowners who can’t afford a real gun may do this to make a burglar stop and think before completing the break in.
From what I understand, from other sites, the kid wasn’t given a chance to put it down. The cop commanded him to put it down and almost immediately started firing into the kid’s back.
Within ten seconds, from the time the cops spotted the kid, he was gunned down.
This event happened only a mile or so from us so I’ve been following this from the beginning. The sheriff’s deputies were not called to the scene, but were just out cruising. They saw the “perp” (Andy Lopez, who was walking down the sidewalk with his back to them) with the “gun,” chirped the siren ONCE, stopped the car, jumped out and took defensive positions behind the car doors.
Deputy Jumpy (oh, sorry, Gelhaus) called for the kid to drop the weapon and turn around. The kid turned but didn’t drop the weapon. (Later, in his report, Gelhaus said he didn’t remember whether or not he identified himself as an officer. So Lopez was not “asked repeatedly” to put down his weapon.) When Lopez was turned about halfway around (probably thinking “Huh? Who’s yelling at me?”) Gelhaus opened fire, shooting eight rounds in less than two seconds. First round hit a house behind Lopez (good shooting, Deputy Jumpy!), second round took the kid in the heart, final round went in through his buttocks and up through his torso, indicating the kid was lying down at that point.
Oh, and just so you know . . . from the time the deputies saw Lopez until Gelhaus began shooting was nineteen seconds. So as you can see, this was a very calm and reasoned approach to a possibly dangerous individual. (Do I have to say /sarc here?)
This event reminds me very much of the Officer Jumpy in Seattle who shot the deaf Indian woodcarver to death on the streets of downtown. That Officer Jumpy saw a knife in the man’s hand (he was an accomplished woodcarver and everyone downtown knew him), stopped his car, jumped out, screamed for the man to put down his weapon, and when the deaf man (DEAF man!) began to turn, finally figuring out something was going on, the officer unloaded his weapon and shot the “perp” to death. He felt “threatened” despite the fact that the knife was over ten feet from him. I believe that officer was finally charged, though.
I hope I’m not coming off as a cop hater. I have almost reverence for the profession as a whole. BUT bad cops need to at least be told to find another line of work, permanently. Gelhaus has no business being anywhere near a gun while wearing a badge.
It is not against the law to carry a weapon.
Your excusing the murder of a person, shows that you are not intelligent enough to put together a cognizant thought. So stop trying to, you look like an idiot.
Your excusing this asphalt pirate of murder, clearly shows your lack of depth of understanding even simple concepts.
Get your facts straight —
Gelhaus was on routine patrol — they were not called to that neighborhood.
And from the time that the call was made to dispatch of a suspicious person to the time the kid was dead with 7 shots in him was 10 seconds — 10 seconds.
When did he yell — when he was still in the car with the door closed??? before he chirped the siren and turned on the lights or after or during??
And what did he yell — drop your gun or turn around and drop your gun??? How could he comply — he wasn’t carrying a gun.
The kid was shot in the right side with the toygun in his left hand as he was turning to the right.
There is no way the barrel of the gun was pointing in quickdraw’s direction — no way.
If he was close enough to feel fear then he was close enough to see that the toygun was a toygun with screws in the stock that was made of shiny plastic and a cheap silver metal barrel without a sight cut off like kids do with those pellet guns and being carried in the left hand — the offhand — like a toy by somebody who looked like a kid.
If Gelhaus was not close enough to see that it was a toygun then he was not close enough to feel threatened.
The article stated he was 73 lbs. No where near adult size unless you are thinking about jockeys. No where did it state the child debated with the cop. Also your assertion that many homeowners may do this (alter a BB gun or toy replica)deter a criminal is just ludicrous.