Posted on 10/26/2013 1:04:01 AM PDT by moonshinner_09
Cops took no more than 10 seconds to fire six or seven shots into the body of dying teenager Andy Lopez after seeing him with a toy pellet gun. Mr Lopez was spotted by deputies on Tuesday afternoon in Santa Rosa, California, carrying the toy rifle, which they mistakenly thought was a real assault weapon. The time that elapsed between when officers reported the sighting to dispatch and then reported shots fired was only 10 seconds. Hundreds of local residents marched on Wednesday night to remember the popular teen and protest at the senseless shooting. They chanted 'We need justice' as they questioned how the deputies could mistake a pellet gun for an assault rifle.According to a police statement, Lopez was twice instructed to put down his weapon, officers opened fire after he failed to comply - only 10 seconds later. Sixteen seconds later, the cops radioed for medical assistance. Ethan Oliver, who lives across the street, told KTVU.com that the deputies continued to shoot at the boy, even after he had fallen to the ground. Oliver said he went outside after hearing two gun shots and by that time Lopez was already on the ground. ‘Then the cops went at it again and unloaded like six to seven shots,’ he said.When asked if he meant that the deputy shot Lopez while he was on the ground, Oliver said, ‘Yeah. Exactly what I saw.’ Authorities haven't responded to his claims, but it raises the possibility that Lopez was still alive when he hit the ground after the first two shots were fired.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Oh and it is my business when you are spouting anti-gun BS!
GFY
Martin's shooting was justified. Are you saying this one was?
God bless him.
In the good ol’ days, the sheriffs sat and talked with the kids at the local Dairy Queen.
They knew all of us by name.
We liked and respected them and I truly believed we behaved because we knew we’d have to face their disappoint in us if they had to pick us up.
No finer men you could hope to find.
Unless it was a rabid or car struck animal, they never had to fire their weapons.
You felt *safe* around them.
But, as LEOs, they should be held to a higher standard.
Cops should NEVER initiate the violence. But when violence ensues, they should have the right/duty to use violence to end it, with public safety paramount.
In our legal system, you may not physically defend yourself until attacked. Threats are not sufficient to justify a violent reaction. Merely looking dangerous is not sufficient justification. Just as citizens are prosecuted for violating this common sense restriction to self defense, so to, should police.
A major crisis is developing in our country, as more & more groups are claiming entitlements not given to others. Politicians are entitled to a lavish lifestyle. Blacks are entitled to preferential treatment in economic opportunities. Muslims are entitled to avoid Obamacare. Police, controlled by unions, another entitled class, are abusing their authority.
Justice is supposed to be blind, & therefore incapable of telling a uniform from a hoodie. Justice, I believe, would say the police initiated the violence & therefore are responsible for its consequences.
If your eyes have never deceived you, you must have been blind since birth. (No offense intended to blind people.) Things are often not what they initially seem. Most of us learn that it is unwise to violently react without first assessing the situation. Haste makes waste. When the zombie jumps out of the bushes, we don't immediately pull the glock & empty it - it might very well be a joke. As long as you are not being assaulted, you have time to think. Ten seconds is not thinking, it is reacting.
If the law allows police to shoot anyone that looks, in their OPINION, dangerous, but has committed no violent act, then we truly live in a police state.
Good rant.
There will a full investigation of this shooting by an independent agency. The Sonoma County Sheriffs Dept. is cooperating with the outside investigation. Waiting for that process to be completed before pronouncing a ‘judgment’ is just common sense.
How did they know he was 13?
Oh that’s right, they didn’t until after the fact.
If you are going to condemn the cops at least do it using info that was known before the fact not after.
Basing a condemnation on what is known after the fact is what the loony left does.
BTW a 13yo can kill you just as dead as anyone else.
This is justifiable to you???
Why are you defending those who are so terrified of citizens wielding firearms that they * kill one* in response to their own fear, not an actual *threat*?
You are supporting the cause of those who wish to insure that no non-government employee.
And what’s worse, “conservatives” on this site are willing to *defend* what would have been indefensible back then-—shooting a minor for *possession* of a a toy firearm.
The 13 year old had 10 seconds to respond.
Ten seconds.
You are defending a murder, and a murder which helps the gun-control crowd, no less.
Oh no, the horrors! A teenager is turning to find out why I am yelling at him in public.
My life is clearly threatened.
</sarc>
Since the police said they hid behind the car doors to shoot then the dash cam would have been pointed right at him and should have captured the whole thing.
Everyone seems to be assuming that you have every reason to be shot dead on sight if you are carrying a real AK-47; is that what the founding father's had in mind?
All the way down to the orange tip. What's your point? That cops can shoot because they're too stupid with fear to assess a situation? If they heard some bangs or if the kid (referred to in the story as "Mister") made some threatening moves. This is just part of the trend where we all become family dogs to the "authorities".
I totally agree with your criticism. Any idiot can shoot someone. Supposedly these people are trained and trusted to assess a possibly dangerous situation and react accordingly. These cops obviously can't handle the responsibility and need to do some time for their execution of this kid.
In Iraq, my Soldiers and found ourselves in many potentially dangerous spots, but we always held fire until we were sure. You'd think local law enforcement could practice the same level of professionalism.
I can see your point and offer an example of the same mass brainwashing by the media and the antis.
Last night I walked into a Halloween party with a 5’ Boa.
[one of my smaller ones]
Apparently, if you walk boldly into a bar with a Boa as if you belong in a bar with a Boa, nobody will throw you out.
We were there for about 3 hours.
Most of those people only know TV horror stories of killer constrictors, wantonly stalking and murdering everything in their slimy, demonic path.
By the end of the night, even the screaming-meemies were -begging- to hold her and have their photo taken with her.
I lost count of how many people passed her around...scores, at least.
Without exception, everyone was amazed that she was nothing like what they’d been told constrictors are.
Nobody there knew my name but as we left, they were all saying goodbye to Beej.
Ironically, the very same people who were most loathe to touch her in the first place returned over and over again to caress her smooth skin and rub her head.
Why?
Their paradigm had shifted.
Their reality was rocked.
Because what the media force feeds us is crapaganda.
The masses are perpetually startled sheep, forever being panicked into a bleating, milling stampede by the talking heads.
Guns.
Dogs.
Snakes.
Cholesterol.
Wobbly ladders.
Whatever.
We have lost the collective ability to filter out the whiny white noise of bargain basement histrionics and form opinions for ourselves.
I find myself chronically disgusted by the general lack of testicular fortitude.
FWIW, the female cop at the door didn’t even blink as I went out and in with the snake draped around my shoulders.
Calm cop.
Impressively stable.
I see lots of personal agendas and few answers.
Nobody seems to connect that this was supposedly a bright kid. What’s the potential of a suicide by cop? Did the kid have some Blaze of glory fantasy? Was he an avid player of video games? Is Heraldo right, that it’s lethal to wear a hoodie?
Good call or bad call, I wasn’t there. Does anybody recall how long 10 seconds really is? The average gunfight is less than 5. We haven’t even gotten into the background of the officers involved. Did either have combat experience or military training? Is America a combat zone?
But 10 seconds?..doesn't sound like a lot of time -- until you count off ten seconds, it could feel like an eternity. Plenty of time to lay it down or put hands up. And sorry, but age is irrelevant. Plenty of 13yo 'kids' who are seasoned gang-bangers today.
Why don’t you wait for the investigation results before pronouncing the verdict in this case, or is that a principle you don’t believe in?
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