Cops Shoot Boy, 12, Carrying 'Airsoft' Toy in Cleveland

[branford]

54. Unfortunately, children being children has changed.

I have no doubt about the sincerity of you beliefs, and the "Punk" comment added little to the substantive discussion.

However, in society today, we have kids killing kids and others in unacceptably high numbers. A 12 year old with a gun indistinguishable from a real firearm, and then reaching for it after being told to put his hands up by police, no less after the police are called to a playground because of a report of someone waving a gun around, is a recipe for a disaster. A police officer or citizen is just as dead or inured if shot by some 12 or 22.

There were a lot of bad choices in this incident, but they do not appear to have been made by the police. The orange plug should not have been removed from the gun, and a 12 year old should know full well not to waive even a BB gun around a playground, no less disobey a police officer while in possession of such a gun, or worse, reach for the gun. I would also like to know where the parents were, if they knew the plug was removed, and if they properly considered whether this BB gun was an appropriate item for their child.

The police were not only responsible for the shot child, but their own safety and the well being of the other children and adults at the playground. This incident probably should never have happened, but the conclusion was likely not in doubt by the time someone called 911.