I am not justifying anything. None of us are fully informed as the circumstances of the shooting to make any judgment any way.
On the surface it looks really bad for the officers and that may prove to be the case.
On the other hand, you may wish to read my posts and ponder what might have been going through the officers minds in the brief time they had to make a decision that may have cost many bystanders their lives if teh police made the wrong call.
The kid was in an area known for violent gang activity, including shootings with AK-47 type rifles.
The kid was big enough to look adult and the gang banger hoodie he was wearing made it hard to determine his age.
He was carrying a weapon that look very similar to a very illegal short barreled AK-47SU “Krinkov” type machine gun fitted with a similarly illegal and highly recognizable 30-40 round magazine , not the equally highly recognizable ridiculous looking 10 round magazine.
The weapon he was carrying DID NOT look like a pellet gun or Air Soft Gun because the identifying orange barrel tip used to keep these toys from being confused with a real weapon by police and prevent these kinds of mistaken shootings had been removed.
I have no idea what the true facts are, but under the circumstances the police officers had every right to assume they were facing a fully armed unknown person who fit the gang banger profile carrying what appeared to be an illegal short barreled AK-47 SU type rifle fitted with a similarly illegal hi capacity 30-40 round magazine.
In the heat of the moment they acted accordingly to that perception.
This is a tragedy for sure, and possibly an accident where the judgment of the officers involved may be questionable, but I categorically reject and am very offended by peoples baseless assertions here that the officers involved were blood thirsty killers out to make a thrill kill on some innocent kid.
I also similarly reject and am offended by similar baseless assertions that the officers were reckless or negligent given the circumstances until there is firm, incontrovertible proof that this is the case.
Innocent until proven guilty applies to police too in my estimation.
Oh they’ve already admitted to killing this kid. We also know the “gun” was a toy. So we KNOW they misjudged the situation despite all of their military training as cops.
And a kid is dead. We know all those things.
So where’s the dash-cam?
Good rant.
There will a full investigation of this shooting by an independent agency. The Sonoma County Sheriffs Dept. is cooperating with the outside investigation. Waiting for that process to be completed before pronouncing a ‘judgment’ is just common sense.
But why doesn't it apply to the boy too? Even if it had been a real gun, doesn't he deserve a trial? If the police are ok’d to blast anyone who doesn't say aye yes or no fast enough, just because they are armed that's pretty effective gun control. Step out side with a gun and you are fair game.