Video released of Cleveland cop shooting 12 yr old with airsoft gun

I blame the driver just as much, he basically put the kid in point blank range of the other officer. "Hey, let me drive up so a kid with a gun is right at your window."

Maybe he didn't see the kid until the car was right up on him

 

I'm sorry but the blame goes to the parents on this one because why would you let your 12 year old go out and play with a BB gun

 

Kids are stupid, good parenting or not. I hope this doesn't come back to bite you in the ass Karmic wise

 

When you were 12, did you ever do things your parents told you not to do?

 

Tragic.

Prayers go out to the families.

 

Dispatcher deserves some serious heat for failing to communicate that the gun was possibly a fake. That's absolutely critical information to relay to the responding officers. I can't believe the dispatcher dropped the ball there.

The driver made a tactical error by pulling up too close to the kid.

It's possible that the 12 year old would have been fatally shot even if the dispatcher and authorities followed proper procedure, but at the same time there's a much better chance that this tragedy could have been avoided. Incompetence clearly played a role in the unfortunate conclusion of this incident.

I understand that some people want to assign some blame to the kid's parents and yes, they probably deserve some. But even well-raised kids tend to be inquisitive and playful...and occasionally ignore or forget to consider potential consequences. It happens, it's part of being a kid, and learning from these experiences is part of growing up. It just so happens that this kid's ill-advised decision resulted in irreversible tragedy.

 

Smh that's a pathetic cop out


Is that why they call it a "cop out" ?

 

The dispatcher telling the officers the gun may be fake wouldn't make much difference. If you're 5 feet from someone and they start pulling a realistic looking gun on me, I'm thinking it's real.

I think the biggest takeaway from the officers' errors is to not pull up directly next to a suspect with a firearm. Give yourself some space to have cover and assess the situation.

 

I am not sure why some people think there always needs to be blame passed off on someone. Sometimes **** happens. This is one of those cases.

I also think many people forget that cops are peace officers. They are NOT soldiers. They do not get in their patrol car each day expecting to get in an armed confrontation. Most of the arm chair badasses here would crap in their pants if a 12 year old pulled an airsoft gun on them, much less assess a potential danger in less than a second.

 

Obviously D&D, but this image shows the problem. That thing looks real. The dispatcher for failing to tell it might be a fake, pulling up so close to the kid, the kid stupidly drawing the gun out of his waistband, and parents failing to monitor the kid and his modification of the gun = tragic accident with too many causes.

 

They're in a car.. he could just punch the gas if he's so afraid and feels in danger.

That said this hood ads 12 yr old was asking for it pulling it out of his waist like that

 

How is the policeman supposed to know that's not a real gun? It looks exactly like a real gun to me.

 

Thread title is misleading.. should read

"Video released of cleveland cop shooting and killing 12 year old holding unmarked airsoft gun"

 

Yes, it's extremely difficult to assess the age of a 12 year old in an encounter.

 

Sounds to me like the caller clearly said towards the end, "I don't know if it is real or not."

Not sure how that is a dispatcher problem.

 

Im usually anti-cop, but in this case, cant put any of the blame on the officer that shot the kid.

Very unfortunate situation, but when you dont know whether or not the gun is real, I have no problems with the cop trying to protect himself.

Kid made a very poor choice and ended up losing his life over it. Maybe some dumb ass will take notice and decide not to aim a gun, whether real or fake, at an officer.

 

If the same cops receiving the same call from dispatch with the same details pulled up on a 12 year old blue-eyed white boy in an affluent neighborhood like the Woodlands, and that boy reached for a real-looking gun in his waistband, would they have immediately drawn and fired, or waited precious seconds to better ascertain the situation?

 

On the flipside, I'm surprised this isn't more common:

http://m.clickondetroit.com/news/defenders-criminals-using-orange-tips-on-real-guns/25983942

 

Considering the color of people that typically do mass shootings, maybe they shoot like in this case, tbh...