Maniacal
the green Napoleon
Are police not trained in the USA to shoot at limbs or other non-lethal parts of the body?
Brownsville Police Shoot And Kill Middle School Student
- Thread starter Tani Coyote
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Tani Coyote
Son of Huehuecoyotl
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If pellets are so dangerous, though, why aren't they more widespread as weapons?
I understand they are dangerous, but if they're right up there with bullets, you'd think you'd see more of them.
At the very least, it would make it easier to regulate them.
Wonder where the kid got the gun from though...
I asked this once. I was told that police shoot to kill; shooting to immobilise is a Hollywood fiction.
This is one I'd prefer not to have happened; but I'll leave it up to the internal review board/subsequent reporting to make a decision as to the merits of the case. As it stands, it was probably justifiable but tragic all the same.
Bugfatty300
Buddha Squirrel
No, their sell is already regulated enough as it is. Anyway who says he went into a store and bought it? I'm pretty sure it's illegal, even in Texas, for a minor to buy a pellet gun, and maybe even illegal to possess one without adult supervision. I mean who says he didn't barrow/steal the gun from a friend or just got someone to buy it for him? How will more regulations prevent that?
No one is saying they are as deadly as firearms. At least not the ones you typically buy over the counter at Wal-Mart.
Tani Coyote
Son of Huehuecoyotl
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Well if we made guns multiple colors of the rainbow, chances are police wouldn't be so quick to pull the trigger, as it doesn't look like an actual firearm.
Now, a pellet might be more dangerous, but this would prevent accidental shootings for airsoft guns and such as well, many of which likewise lack the orange tip.
Precisely, hence the outrage.
Synobun
Deity
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Nobody is going to wait for the other person to shoot first to find out if it's a real gun.
Bugfatty300
Buddha Squirrel
So what if he had spray painted a clear plastic water pistol black? It'd definitely look real enough from a certain vantage point. Would you seriously be here telling us we need tighter regulations on spray paint and plastic gas station water pistols?
It seems you don't fully understand what transpired in this incident. The issue is that police shot a kid who they believed was pointing a Glock at them. The fact that it turned out to be pellet gun is utterly irrelevant. It could have been, say, a clear plastic water pistol spray painted black and the result likely would have been the same.
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As far as colors go: Bright colors and orange tips are for toy guns. And by toy guns I mean toy guns and not something can kill or severely injure you and others like a pellet gun can. Putting them on actual weapons completely defeats the purpose. The reason why there aren't many brightly colored pellet guns is because the manufacturers don't want want idiots and kids to mistake them for a toy and end up severely injuring or killing someone with it. Another reason is because they are marketed to young adults who might not want a Gay Pride flag gun.
Tani Coyote
Son of Huehuecoyotl
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It would be nice if non-lethal shots were a real thing though.
To be fair, I've never even heard of a pellet gun. I've fired actual firearms and airsoft guns, but never pellet. Heck, even a quick Google search had difficulty finding results. I've never seen pellet guns in popular culture either. It's either an actual gun or that stupid "you'll shoot your eye out" crap from a Christmas Story.
Fair enough.
Traitorfish
The Tighnahulish Kid
...Who do they think the police work for?
Bugfatty300
Buddha Squirrel
Just to give you an idea on how powerful they can be: Most Wal-Mart have pellet rifles on their shelves that will shoot a projectile at 1,000 feet per second. A 9mm bullet is usually clocked around ~1,100 feet per second. And you can buy even more powerful ones online. People really underestimate them. "You'll shoot your eye out" is a little bit of an understatement. The one the kid had was probably not very powerful but still not a toy.
This is not a case of pellet gun manufacturers being at fault for the colour of their products (which are repaintable, mind you). This is a case of a genuine idiot pointing something that closely resembles a real gun at a police officer. Do you think police officers are trained to stop and look at the gun from different angles to determine whether they're real and loaded firearms?
Shaihulud
Deity
The police did the right thing, there is very little options in what they can do in this kind of situation.
...Who do they think the police work for?
The state, which is why libertarians don't want to militarize them or whatever they call it.
Mr. Dictator
A Chain-Smoking Fox
Total suicide by cop. There's no way he thought he'd make it out alive, and punching the random kid beforehand seems to fit into a sort of "this is it" mentality.
Not that it's not "tragic", but I'm not very pitying of him.
Not that it's not "tragic", but I'm not very pitying of him.
I wouldn't go so far as to say he "deserved" it. But the cops really didn't have any other choice, and made the right call.
Synobun
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Deserved it in the sense that it was fully justified and his parents and whoever else complaining have no ground to stand on. What are they going to do, whine to the judge and say, "How dare this police officer do his job!" ?
Bestbank Tiger
Deity
Wouldn't suprise me if that was the case. Sad story.
There is alot of popular resentment among poorer minority populations against the po po, justifiably so. I wouldn't be surprised if some kind of crazy conspiracy theory has already been started to put the blame on the officer.
Not in this situation. Nor are they trained to do that here. Nor anywhere really. You don't aim to wound in a situation a gun is being pointed at someone else.
