To the surprise of even city council members, the Petaluma Police Department dusted off a little-known law last week in an effort to educate the public on the city's regulations regarding toy guns. The move comes in the wake of the shooting death of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by a Sonoma County Sheriff's deputy, who reportedly mistook a replica airsoft gun the teen was carrying for a real AK-47 assault rifle. The shooting sparked a handful of phone calls from concerned citizens seeking information about the laws regulating airsoft guns, which caused the Petaluma police to announce the ordinance in a...
