cops should work near their own homes–13-year-old boy carrying a BB gun was killed by a Expert Firearms deputy who thought his lookalike was real

Lopez died at the scene. A neighbor told The Press Democrat that seven shots were fired into the child, with a total of eight shots being fired. One Officer didn’t fire at all

A California police officer shot and killed a 13-year-old boy as he walked down the sidewalk carrying a pellet gun that resembled an assault rifle

Two police officers happened to be patrolling a street nearby when they spied Lopez and his gun. One of the officers instructed the boy to put down his gun.

Awful: Cali police kill 13-year-old boy armed with only a pellet gun

 

• Protesters Rally After Boy Killed By Calif. Deputy (npr.org) Call For Community policing: Protect and serve.

one officer shot, one did not. The officer has PTSD, could be shell shot, this isn’t Iraq, find cover or best of all know your neighbourhood a lot better.  I thought cops were to work in their own community. They have protection. You can’t just shoot kids down. You are trained, they are not. If you are afraid, patrol another neighbourhood that you feel more comfortable serving and protecting.

We need our own community police. scary ass cops should work near their own homes

On Monday, the sheriff’s office confirmed the deputy who fired the seven shots was Erick Gelhaus,48, a 24-year-veteran of the force, who is also a firearms expert, Iraq War veteran, and a regular contributor to magazines and blogs that tackle gun issues. In Nov. 2008 SWAT magazine article titled “Ambush Reaction in the Kill Zone,” Gelhaus wrote about how you need to stay “in the kill zone” or “bad things will happen to you.”

In order to do that, he wrote, “you must take some kind of action” and find your “mean gene.” (PDF)

Related articles

• Sonoma County Deputies Kill 13-Year-Old Carrying Replica AK-47 (blogs.kqed.org)
• Erick Gelhaus Identified As Cop Who Killed Teenager Andy Lopez (thetrialdivas.com)
• Calif. sheriff’s deputies shoot, kill 13-year-old (sacbee.com)
• Cop Who Shot Boy Carrying Replica Gun Is Firearms Expert (nation.time.com)
• Deputy who killed California boy trains officers to use guns (bangordailynews.com)
• Deputy Who Shot Calif. Teen Is a Gun Instructor – ABC News (abcnews.go.com)
• Deputy who fatally shot teen holding fake rifle is a firearms expert – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
• Protesters Rally After Boy Killed By Calif. Deputy (npr.org)