Deputy who shot kid was a “gun expert.”

 

Remember the story about the cop who shot a kid with a BB-gun? Turns out he’s a bit cocky when it comes to guns, a deadly mistake:

(10-28) 14:32 PDT SANTA ROSA — The Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy who killed a 13-year-old boy after mistaking his toy AK-47 for a real rifle was identified Monday as a firearms instructor, hunter and war veteran who in the past has warned other officers that they may need to use lethal force to survive an encounter.

….

He once accidentally shot himself in the leg in 1995 while on duty with the sheriff’s office – reportedly while holstering a gun. However, officials said he has not fired upon a suspect in 24 years with the agency, where he serves as a field training officer for new recruits and trains colleagues to shoot at the department’s gun range.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Deputy-who-shot-boy-with-toy-gun-ID-d-as-gun-4933421.php

Of course, some people are blaming the kid for having a BB gun.

It’s the fault of the air gun manufacturers and retailers, who fought a law that would have forced BB guns to be clear or brightly colored so they could easily be distinguished as fake – because the vendors were concerned sales would drop off if the fake guns didn’t look real.

The tragedy is that this bill was attempted 2 years ago in response to another similar shooting.

Why isn’t that mentioned anywhere in the article

 

It’s not mentioned because cops are supposed to follow procedures before they shoot. “Hey you, stop, put the gun down,” that sort of thing. The cop says he did.

Gelhaus got out of the vehicle and ordered the boy to drop the gun, which did not have an orange tip – a feature that toy guns must have under federal law. When he didn’t drop the gun and turned toward the deputies, Gelhaus fired, fearing for his life, officials said.
Source: Idem

So who do we believe? The cop? The kids’ defenders? Hard to tell. This is why some cops are wearing video recording devices, video doesn’t lie. Yet this cop was somewhat weird in other areas, as he told S.W.A.T. Magazine in 2008:

“Today is the day you may need to kill someone in order to go home,” he wrote. “If you cannot turn on the ‘mean gene’ for yourself, who will? If you find yourself in an ambush, in the kill zone, you need to turn on that mean gene.”
Source: Idem

Have you ever heard anyone else mention a mean gene? Clearly there’s something wrong with this guy. Shooting people in self-defense or defense of others isn’t about being mean, it’s about survival. George Zimmerman didn’t turn on his mean gene, he was scared to death that that little bastard was going to kill him. Let me make it clear, crminals are mean, law-abiding people are not mean. They’re good to themselves and good to their communities.

At a march Friday, some protesters carried fake guns, and “at least one person displayed the weapon to passing citizens,” Santa Rosa police said, adding that officers “were forced to respond to address the situation that created unnecessary risks for all involved.”

I don’t see how a fake gun creates unnecessary risks, the Black Panthers used to march with real guns and they didn’t shoot anyone during those marches.