I'd be more afraid of the *ussy holding the gun than the toy gun. He looks like he just WANTS to kill something. Nice. Cops should be wackos. /sarcasm
I have a hard time believing that cops CANNOT be trained enough in target recognition and "shoot/no shoot" scenarios to avoid killing a youngster with a water gun. And are such mistaken shootings REALLY so large a problem? If so, then the roots go far deeper than the configuration of the VICTIM's toy. This, however, is probably one of those roads the cops and the municipalities they work for don't wish to go down.
In any case, this so-called "problem" is an IDEAL excuse for the Antis to further limit the exposure of children to firearms.
I find it HIGHLY interesting that those same cops, who are SUPPOSED to be able to protect US, and who are SUPPOSEDLY so much better trained than a civilian gunowner, cannot be trained to avoid shooting a child with a cap gun. Or, for that matter, to control their adrenaline rush in so critical a circumstance.
Remember, most cops only qualify once or twice a year on their service weapons. How often do YOU shoot?