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| -Land of the Free | ||
| US police gave boy just 10 seconds to drop toy gun before shooting him dead | ||
| 2013-10-26 | ||
| [Euronews] There were just 10 seconds between US police spotting a teenager with what they thought was a rifle and opening fire on him, it's emerged. The drama unfolded as Andy Lopez Cruz, 13, was walking in a field on his way to a friend's house in Santa Rosa, California. Police said they called for him to drop what turned out to be a toy replica gun, before firing several rounds from their handguns. He died at the scene. Now police investigating the shooting have revealed a timeline of events. There were 10 seconds between officers spotting the boy and opening fire and a further 16 seconds before medical assistance was called. A post-mortem has revealed seven bullets were lodged within the boy's body.
"People have to do something," said Elbert Howard, a founding member of the Police Accountability Clinic and Helpline of Sonoma County. "He's a child, and he had a toy. I see that as an overreaction to shoot him down." An advisory panel of the US Civil Rights Commission urged Sonoma County to create civilian-review boards in 2000 following eight fatal officer-involved shootings in less than three years, but that recommendation went unheeded. As many as 200 mourners gathered on Thursday around a makeshift memorial consisting of flowers, balloons, teddy bears and pictures of the boy at the site of the shooting. Some held candles and signs that said: "What a tragedy, what a travesty." Friends and family have described the boy as a well-liked eighth-grader who played the trumpet and basketball and had a good sense of humour.
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| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #14 Darwin Award. |
| Posted by: gorb 2013-10-26 19:34 |
| #13 Way back when Saturday Night Live was remotely funny, during the start of the Afghan War, they had a skit where a reporter asked "Donald Rumsfeld" (played by Darrel Hammond) "The Taliban shot at US troops and missed, but the US troops shot back anyway. Is that fair?" This seems to be the attitude a lot of people have: bad guys get to take the first shot. And maybe a second if they miss. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2013-10-26 15:19 |
| #12 I don't think Whuck Forkbeard5327 cares about the safety of the cops, bystanders. It's all about emotion and "why can't you just wing him - like on TV?" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2013-10-26 15:11 |
| #11 Only firing when fired upon will lead to a lot more dead cops. If the toy looked real, if the boy didn't drop the weapon when told, if he made a move towards the police and in a gang filled area, the cops had every right to drop him. Little hint to those on the other end. Just do what the cop with the drawn gun says. It ain't hard and it ain't rocket science. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2013-10-26 15:08 |
| #10 You don't fire unless fired upon. sorry, but that's just plain dumb - and only works for lucky people. Others find absorbing that first bullet a little problematic. You point a gun at a cop, who likely doesn't have a platoon also aiming at the perp, and he's within his rights to take you down |
| Posted by: Frank G 2013-10-26 14:51 |
| #9 The military has ROE. Cops need them too, like the one the military hates.... You don't fire unless fired upon. |
| Posted by: Whuck Forkbeard5327 2013-10-26 14:45 |
| #8 I'm afraid I agree that this looks like a proper use of force for the Police. I don't care who you are, I don't care what language you speak, or even if you are deaf, nor what country you are in. When multiple people in police uniforms and wearing badges are pointing weapons at you, it's pretty much wise to drop anything you are holding, slowly raise your hands with fingers spread and gently drop to your knees and cross your feet at the ankles. Let the lawyers sort it out later - because right now Officer Friendly is NOT feeling friendly and is seeing WHATEVER you have in your hands as a threat. Stupidity is ALWAYS fatal. Orion |
| Posted by: Orion 2013-10-26 14:16 |
| #7 The Senior Officer (more than 20 years) engaged. All they saw was an AK with feet and the barrel was raised toward the Officers. This is unfortunate, but sounds like they did what they thought they had to. |
| Posted by: newc 2013-10-26 13:42 |
| #6 Thanks for the background info Rex, as there are neighborhoods where 13 YOs are dangerous. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2013-10-26 13:40 |
| #5 #3 is correct - no orange tip. The photos they have of the toy could be of a real gun. He also had a toy handgun in his waistband. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2013-10-26 13:32 |
| #4 Ah, my home town and current residence. I'll try to answer any questions. The area of town this occurred in has been traditionally a troubled area, with gang violence the main irritant, and the drugs that go along with it. Not too long ago, there was a major pot raid in this exact neighborhood. So many houses were growing that the smell was easily detected just walking down the streets. So the area itself has its history. Recently, the area has been undergoing some a real turn around with the addition of Elsie Allen High School and community infrastructure. All of which has attracted a large influx of recent "immigrants". What was a small, troubled area is now a much more populated, troubled area. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2013-10-26 12:33 |
| #3 The toy AK-47 looks just the real thing. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2013-10-26 12:17 |
| #2 A post-mortem has revealed seven bullets were lodged within the boy's body Someone is getting better at putting rounds on target versus many previous shootings (see-NYC shooting hitting bystanders). That said, I'm interested in the entry point and angle. Was he down and someone felt the need to deliver a 'coup de grace'? There were 10 seconds between officers spotting the boy and opening fire De facto shot first, ask questions later. If they had done this in uniform in Afghanistan, they'd most likely be facing a courts martial these days. Past time to rig officers with video that can't be tampered with. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2013-10-26 11:47 |
| #1 I'm not sure what kind of neighborhood this is, and I have heard this good kid story too much. But seven |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2013-10-26 11:42 |