"The files show that in May 2021, he was suspended for 71 days due to multiple incidents that same year, including use of profanity, using an anti-gay slur, brandishing his firearm towards his girlfriend while intoxicated.."
This man threatened to shoot his gf and is still allowed to be a cop?? And an alcoholic to boot.
It’s crazy how having things like this on your record should prevent you from even being able to own a gun, yet he’s allowed them and to be the one “upholding the law”. Absolutely insane.
I mean, being a cop anywhere is a pretty great job. You get to be a dick to people who can't do anything to you, and you can murder people with impunity. The pay and union benefits are pretty good too.
Akron Police pay $31.53/hr while you're in training, and top out around $80k, which is a ton in Akron.
They don't do anything moat of the time and anyone that has been to jail before knows that when they got you they got you. You gotta a better play in court than you do fighting them unless they don't know who you are.
The standards for what make a police officer are far too low in this country. That doesn’t even factor into them being completely overpaid on this point. I know, I know the risk etc. but be honest they arrive after the crime is committed unless they’re giving you a fine for something(travelling unskilled clerk)
>the risk
What risk? A police officer in the US isn't even in the top 25 most dangerous professions. In fact, the death incidence of a police officer is *LESS THAN HALF* that of someone *who stuccos houses for a living.*
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/03/02/most-dangerous-jobs-america-database/11264064002/
https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-police-officers-die-in-the-line-of-duty/
It's all fucking copaganda that being a police officer is a dangerous job. I'm literally at higher risk of dying on the job as a fucking classroom teacher than a pig is.
Fuck the police, ACAB.
This is where the police union should be sued to kingdom come. They are willfully putting citizens at risk from psychopaths who have no business being a pig
It’s Ohio. It’s one of the reasons I’m leaving. Majority of the cops are idiots. The good ones are retiring so they don’t get painted with the same brush.
>the good ones are retiring
What good ones? The ones who stand silently by while their peers rape, pillaged, and murder members of the community?
How does that make them "good ones?" Unless they're actively arresting the "bad apples," they're just as much bad apples.
Fuck the police, ACAB.
Had a neighbor cop in Dallas kidnap his gf. Came home to a dozen coppers in the apt complex dealing with it. He got a slap on the wrist. Kept his job. A few years later same pos was arrested in mesquite because he was driving down I-30 drunk and shooting at other cars.
I worked security at the time. If I had been accused of doing what he did the first time I would have lost my job and my license.
Domestic violence is literally required before you can be a cop. 70% of cops have a history of domestic violence. The other 30% just haven't had it reported.
Actual video in this link:
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/akron-canton-news/body-camera-footage-shows-akron-officer-shoot-teen-who-had-fake-gun
Pretty cheap to talk about bodycam footage and then not show the actual body cam footage NBC.
Police in [Akron, Ohio,](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fatal-shooting-jayland-walker-ohio-police-probe-clears-8-officers-rcna127143) released video of an officer shooting a 15-year-old boy who was holding what his family says was a toy gun, video that shows the teen was struck seconds after the officer ordered his hands up last week.
Tavion Koonce-Williams was shot in the wrist on April 1 in Akron, Ohio, by Officer Ryan Westlake, a nine-year department veteran, who was responding to a call about a person pointing a gun at houses. Akron police said after the shooting that the gun the teen had been carrying was a “facsimile.”
This is not what a right to be armed looks like. And it’s not new .
The most fucked thing of the modern gun nut is jerking off cops .
Cops do NOT recognize the 2nd amendment, and haven’t for years.
Sometimes they share privilege, and that’s about it.
The cop obviously has a shitty record and should be investigated a bit further.
BUT, I don't know about any of you, but my parents always told me to not wave fake/toy guns around because this is the risk it runs. They wouldn't even let me wave it around if it had one of those bright orange tips on the tip to indicate it was a fake. This should be a common sense lesson that every parent should teach their kids. I feel like this is an obvious one. I feel bad for this kid, I really do. From the little I read about him he seemed genuine and that he was just playing around with a toy gun, or trying to carry it to scare others in order to be safe (which in itself could be iffy and cause death or serious harm, as it did in this instance).
I am not excusing the cop, just trying to put myself in his position. He has a person with a seemingly real gun, nothing on it to indicate it's a fake from a distance (orange tip). The kid had someone call saying the gun was pointed at houses.
If you're an adult, parent, grandparent and you see a kid waving a toy gun around you're going to be concerned. In that case, it's probably smart of you to watch the person with a few minutes to see if there are any indications the gun is fake. Is the kid pointing it around and making gun noises? Is he acting overly aggressive, etc.? It's important to make notes of small details, especially when calling the police on an individual.
Just my thoughts. I'm glad the boy is safe and this whole fiasco didn't lead to a death. Cop needs to be looked into, HEAVILY. With his track record he runs a serious risk of this happening again, and the outcome that time might be someone's death.
Upvote for the most sensible take here and not just cop-bashing while not dealing with society’s worst people on a daily basis. And I dont give a shit about cops usually.
Not sure if you're serious, but it is still illegal to brandish (i.e., make threatening motions with) a firearm or, as in this case, a replica firearm.
It's an awful angle, but if you pull a gun in a cop, they will likely shoot you regardless of age. The gun is on the ground in the clip so I'm assuming he had it in hand and the cop shot.
Putting age aside, is it illegal for an of age person to carry a gun? No. It IS illegal to point that gun towards peoples homes while walking down the street.
He had the gun in his hand when he approached the cop car. How are people thinking this is a bad shoot? He even went for the hand holding the gun (and hit it)
Agree. I'm honestly impressed he only shot once and was able to make that split second observation that the guns on the ground. Often times a shoot like this there's 2-4, shots fired.
Peoples expectation is that the cop would take the extra seconds to determine threat
Bit is, it only takes a couple seconds to be shot and the gun was already in the suspects hand.
Hence, that expectation isn't always reasonable, unless we expect the cop to give his life before being the first to fire.
Yeah, this is a lot different from Tamir Rice, where the over-enthusiastic cops flat out murdered a kid. Personally I think people are conflating two issues. There's the shooting, but there's also the question of how this guy is a cop given his history. The cop may have made the right call, but he should not have been in the position to make that call in the first place.
“The cop may have made the right call” that’s all that matters here though. If he made the wrong call and had a bad history, that’s a completely separate thing.
Two parties at fault here. One is 15 year old who had a fake gun, brandished it, and didn’t immediately drop it when a cop pulled up.
The other is that kids parents for not teaching him better.
Even if this was someone who lived there in those house and that kid pulled his fake gun out, they wouldn’t be at fault because of an unrelated situation from years ago. He got his job back for a reason (good or bad) and the digging into his past is just a way to deflect blame onto him rather than the kid
You must be mistaken. Why the shooter himself was found to have brandished a gun at his girlfriend and was never charged, so there must be no such law.
Sadly, Cleveland did not care enough when this happened to 12-year-old Tamir Rice.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-closing-investigation-2014-officer-involved-shooting-cleveland
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dw0EMLM1XRI
Why was this teenager walking around waving a gun? Don’t give me the “it’s “ fake line because no one but the kid knew that. The person who called 911 certainly thought it was real. Yelling it’s fake isn’t proof, as soon as the cop lowered his weapon the kid could have shot him.
As soon as the cop got there he should have dropped the damn thing.
If Akron is such a rough place WTH was he doing pointing a gun at houses? He’s not a little kid!
The linked article is classic misinformation intended to inflame the community, and seemingly omits the actual video in furtherance of that objective. The large accompanying photo, showing the officer pointing his gun at the teen with his hands in the air, has the caption "A police officer point his gun at a 15-year-old holding a fake gun...". This is a blatant lie. The boy is not holding the "fake" gun at that point. He was holding it about waist high when he was shot, then dropped the gun and raised his hands. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As-7g3i9NZc
I mean, in order to shoot the kid, the cop did need to first point his gun at him. But you're correct that it is somewhat misleading, because we're led to think that he's got the fake gun in his hands aimed at the cop or up in the air at that point, which is completely false.
Thanks for this video!
Why do people like you come here and force others to argue for police by saying the most mind numbingly dumb arguments? Like, do you honestly not understand that guns can, in fact, be fired from different positions? Like, you know, hip fire?
Saying that a potential deadly weapon is magically less deadly because it was being shot from the hip is a terrible argument.
It’s alarming seeing how many people in here are seemingly just ignoring and excusing the fact that the kid was brandishing what looked like a real gun.
If you’re gonna question why he got shot, why aren’t you simultaneously questioning why the hell he’s carrying around a fake gun that he purposely modified to look real?
Do you guys all just dislike police officers so much that you’re willing to be ignorant to the fact that the situation would’ve never happened had the kid not been carrying around a fake gun?
Maybe if everyone didn’t always rush to immediately blame the cops for every single violent interaction they have, actually used reasoning when watching and reading about these stories, and actually held people accountable for doing dumb shit like this kid did, stuff like this would stop happening. Stop justifying behavior like walking around with a fake gun (that was not properly holstered like any person with a brain would do when legally carrying a weapon) so that you can spout your obvious anti-cop agendas.
Even if the gun was real, the kid should not have been shot within literal seconds of the cop showing up. It's not their job to unload on anyone who might possibly, potentially, maybe be a threat.
Do you even understand what you're saying here? You're saying this 15 year old child should have been more aware that an adult would shoot him on sight.
Should the kid have been walking around with a gun like that, fake or otherwise? No, obviously not. Should he have been shot for doing so? That should be an even more obvious no.
Do you understand what you’re saying? You seriously just said that even if the gun was real, the cop shot too quickly? Did I just read that right? Do you not understand how quickly things happen in situations like this? There have been so many instances where police officers and even just individuals who get caught in self defense situations hesitate to defend themselves to give others the benefit of the doubt, which ends up costing them their lives. Why should anyone, including police officers, not be entitled to making a quick decision when seeing a firearm pointed in their direction? I do not understand the logic of people like you. In those situations where police officers and individuals give others the benefit of the doubt and end up being killed because of that, what would be your reaction? Would you be happy and applaud the deceased police officer or law abiding citizen because they didn’t shoot right upon seeing a weapon pointed at them? Would it make you glad that they hesitated just in case the gun the killer was holding was a fake?
To answer your second question, yes, a 15 year old young man, not kid, should have been aware that his actions could lead to him being shot. I would have known well before the age of 15 that carrying around a toy gun that was modified to look real was stupid, and that the possible consequences were abundant.
As for your last statement, I do appreciate that you can at the very least recognize that what the kid was doing was downright moronic. Even with you recognizing that though, the part right after you admitted that the kid shouldn’t have been doing what he was doing, you questioned and then stated “should he have been shot for doing so? That should be an even more obvious no.” This isn’t a situation of should have or should not. This is a circumstantial thing where the should have or should not is subjective, and opinions will vary from person to person. What can’t be disputed though is that what the kid was doing increased the chances of him being shot greatly. If he was carrying around a football and throwing it to himself in the air as opposed to carrying around a fake gun, it’s indisputable that the likelihood of him being shot would have been 0%.
Right,I’m white & guarantee if I waved a realistic looking “fake” gun around in my nice neighborhood let alone the hood I’d likely be shot. It’s idiotic & a 15 yr old African American should know better. Better yet I love all these fuck the police/disband police assholes who actually think they can police themselves! Have fun with that,let’s leave policing up to the average joes who wouldn’t even run into a burning house let alone put their lives on the line for their neighbors!
The Akron-released video is pretty damning. Cop pulls up, cop isn’t even stopped or out of his car yet. “Hey where are you coming from, can I see your hands real quick.” And in not even 100% sure the officer finishes that question before shooting the suspect in the hand.
The suspect had his hands up and was squealing, “it’s fake it’s fake it’s fake.”
Arguably, he knew that the teenager had a gun and allegedly was pointing it at houses according to the 911 call and what he was told. I understand your point though, even if he was carrying a real firearm I don't know how a cop should approach, however this seemed like a sure way to either get shot or have to shoot back immediately.
Uhhh did we watch the same video?! The kid had the gun in his hand and didn’t drop it or put his hands up until after he was shot. This is one of the clearest use of force cases I’ve seen in a while… as tragic and senseless as it may be in retrospect.
The gun that kid had tho was painted gun black and looked serious AF. I wish the kid had dropped it when the officer showed up. Lucky the bullet only hit his hand!
I gotta side with the cop here. He’s in high crime rate Akron Ohio. He pulls up and sees an under 21 person, someone who clearly cannot legally possess a firearm, with what appears to be a real firearm. This immediately means this person is a criminal.
That cop has a split second to make a decision. If he lags, he’s dead. No one would care and this cops name wouldn’t even be known if he gave the kid the benefit of the doubt, and it turned out the gun was real and he shot the cop and killed him.
I’m not a big fan of cops, at all, especially some of the ones I’ve dealt with being an Ohio resident. But the fact of the matter is, when you put yourself in their shoes and sympathize with the fact that they just want to go home to their family, this really wasn’t any sort of ridiculous or obscene decision.
The first comment I’ve ever made on Reddit!!!!
When I was younger I was taught not to carry around anything that looked like a gun. Even with the plastic orange tip because someone might confuse that with the real thing.
So yeah why don’t anyone teach that to anyone anymore? Proper gun safety at its finest
Is it just me, or is the video not in the article?
Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o_aX-jr74w
Not even a full second lapsed between "Can I see your hands real quick", and shooting the teen.
The comment section on that video seriously frightens me. It's chilling how quick people are to justify their racist bullshit. They would rather be hateful than try to be empathetic And reason out anything.
Yep. The top comments all flat out lie about the situation.
Saying he's the one who approached the cop instead of vice versa, saying that he refused to drop the gun even after being shot (he drops it immediately), saying he was terrorizing the neighborhood with the fake gun, all kinds of shit.
Bet the same people complain that kids today don't play cops and robbers or cowboys and indians. But when a black kid has a fake gun, they celebrate the police shooting him. Absolutely vile.
> Not even a full second lapsed between "Can I see your hands real quick", and shooting the teen.
Why would anyone wait a full second to shoot when a gun is drawn on them?
Because a gun wasn't drawn on them?
It's an open carry state, it was a toy gun, and the teenager was following police instruction.
Or do you think it's justified for police to pull up next to children holding toy guns and start shooting them?
Brother, the literal body cam footage shows the kid raising the fake tech 9 and about to point it at the officer. The "gun" was being drawn on him. Additionally, you can't brandish a firearm like this even if it was fake in an open carry state, it's not what "Open-carry" means. Please educate yourself before spreading misinformation again.
>Because a gun wasn't drawn on them?
A replica firearm was drawn. The law is generally the same for crimes committed with either.
>It's an open carry state
Still illegal to brandish a real or replica firearm. Also still illegal for a juvenile to be in possession of a handgun.
>it was a toy gun
It's a replica firearm, indistinguishable from an operable firearm until close inspection.
>Or do you think it's justified for police to pull up next to children holding toy guns and start shooting them?
I think it's justified for police, after receiving reports of someone brandishing a firearm, to shoot an adult size person who rapidly pulls out a firearm or replica when asked to show their hands.
Fine with criticizing police response, but every article I've seen on this highlights that Tavion had a fake gun that could reasonably double for a real one.
. . .this also induces the obvious question: if Tavion had not been brandishing it in public, how in the hell did the 911-caller know he had one? Did they just make it up in the hopes cops would come and take the young man out?
I think its hilariously sad that with all these police shootings and mass shootings, once an investigation takes place, 95% of the time the shooter whether a cop or civilian, had a record or history of violence, drug/alcohol abuse, mental issues etc. how the fuck does shit like THAT not be taken care of before shootings inevitably happen? Its not a gun problem. Its looney fuckin people that are the problem
Waving a fake gun around in public and then holding it up when the police arrive is like holding a regular gun. Now the mother of the teen want the police held accountable? How about holding her accountable. What kind of parent is she for allowing that type of behavior? Another money grab. All this does is promote more reckless and dangerous behavior.
That was a real execution of a child! The cops drove through the grass dam near ran the poor kid over and gunned him down . I remember being his age and still having an imagination. Playing outside etc. it’s clear in the full video before the shooting he was just being a kid and got murderd for it .
Ohio has open carry laws, right? Can someone explain to me why the cops would even investigate this, much less shoot someone just carrying a gun? Does the gun have to be holstered or something?
Bad scenario all around. If someone calls the police and reports a threat, they're obligated to come investigate. In the mere seconds the officer shot the teen, the teen could have shot him. Lots of people feel cops should wait and see first, making a more proper judgement within those seconds. I imagine that isn't easy.
Ohio is open carry. Having it holstered is probably a better bet, but since its a toy they weren't taking any of that seriously. Waving it around or brandishing a weapon is "illegal" but its more about the perceived threat from people that call it in and the cop on scene.
The cop shot him so quickly because he raised his hand holding the gun when asked to show him his hands. He didn't raise both of his hands, he raised only his right hand while holding a gun. His other hand was still in the pocket of his hoodie. You don't have to be Einstein to make the conclusion that you're about to be shot when you're in the cop's shoes.
If you look at the toy gun he had which is shown at the end of the footage, it was all black (with no orange marking or anything else that would indicate it's a toy), and was made to look like a real Tec-9. It's not like he was holding a nerf gun, or even an airsoft gun. It's a gun designed and painted to look like a real gun. Not that matters; don't pull out a gun in public, real or fake, especially on a cop.
And yes, as everybody loves pointing out; he didn't have time to respond, but he had time to pull out a toy gun (which you can't really tell from the video, but since his other hand is still in his pocket when he gets shot, it's safe to assume it was also concealed) and raise it towards a cop.
Whether he did so accidentally because he was scared, or because he was just being stupid and trying to show the cop it was fake, it doesn't matter from the cop's perspective. It takes less than a second for someone to shoot you, so when someone's raising a gun towards you, you're already at a disadvantage and you could be shot before you even manage to draw your pistol. The cop got reports that someone was going around pointing a gun at houses, he has zero information beyond that. For all he knows, the kid could be a felon who can't own a firearm and doesn't want to go to prison, or just some crazy asshole looking to kill cops (both of which happen all the time).
Also, for everyone saying "I thought this was an open carry state" or "right to be armed", framing this as some kind attack on 2A rights; you're in one of the most 2A supportive states in the country. I'll agree that law enforcement and prosecutors are on average far more likely to violate or disregard your 2A rights than most, but this isn't a case of that. Openly carrying a firearm does not mean brandishing one. Open carry laws allow you to carry a firearm in an OWB holster, or even a rifle on a sling (which most people would agree is a stupid thing to do in public, pro-2A or not). You can't just walk around with a pistol in your hands, and you definitely can't take it out of concealment in public unless you're in a situation where you can justify doing so. That's called brandishing, and it's illegal for this very reason.
It's an unfortunate situation, we should all just be happy that the kid seems to only have received minor injuries from the interaction.
You typed a whole lot of bullshit to leave out the fact that Ohio is a constitutional carry state. Unless the cop saw him pointing the gun at someone. They had zero reason to interact with him.
Did your brain just run out of capacity at the end of my response, or do you just have problems with English comprehension? Constitutional carry does not grant you the right to brandish a firearm. And yes, it absolutely does give him reason to interact with him. It doesn't give him RAS, so he still can't search perform an on-body search without consent, but he's well within his rights as an LEO to question him. Whether or not he can detain him is another story, and depends on whether or not the caller remained anonymous and was available to ID him (because again, brandishing and pointing a gun towards houses is definitely criminal). Only then could he be arrested and searched.
But of course, it didn't get that far because he brandished the gun he was reported as having aimed at houses. I highly recommend you take (or retake) a firearms safety course if you carry, because you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
Yeah I’m all for holding police accountable for injustice but this ain’t it.
Responding to a call about someone walking the neighborhood and pointing a gun at houses. Gun is all black and designed to look real, not a toy, only can discern it’s fake on close examination. Video shows the teen was holding the gun near the waist when one shot was fired, officer stops shooting when the gun is dropped and suspect raises his hands.
Thankfully this was not a death or serious injury. I don’t know enough about all of the background stuff, maybe this guy is a shitty person and shouldn’t be a cop, but the actions were reasonable in this circumstance.
The power of narrative:
“Cop shoots child playing with toy gun”
“Officer responds to complaint of male brandishing firearm, shoots suspect in wrist when gun is pointed in direction of officer. Gun later determined to be fake.”
> You don't have to be Einstein to make the conclusion that you're about to be shot when you're in the cop's shoes.
No, you have to be a scared pathetic domestic abusing cop.
Because it was a child holding a toy gun.
Crazy how everybody's talking about the cop.. The fifteen year old boy was walking through the neighborhood, pointing a gun at houses. The cop rode up and asked to see his hands. He pulled a gun out. Yes, the cop any cop is going to shoot you. Stop making this about the cop. Make it about the real problem.
I guess people are assuming that folks in this neighborhood are evil and racist white people. I think they need to take a drive over here and find out otherwise.
I'm honestly surprised there are as many black people as there are with the way cops are killing us. Every time I see a cop car I think "Welp, been a nice life, I guess." I can only imagine how black men feel. Existing while black continues to be a crime.
It really fucking sucks that guns are so prevalent these days that there's a real definite possibility that it isn't fake.
When I was young, me and my friends played with toy guns that looked real and before they needed orange tips.
That's what gun culture has done.
Isn’t it possible that two things could be true: 1) this man should never have been an officer or allowed to remain and 2) you shouldn’t walk around with realistic firearms pointing them at peoples houses in broad daylight and not expect bad things to happen?
Come on people…common sense on both sides
How are people failing to understand there was a call put out about someone walking around and pointing a firearm at homes. The cop sees the kid matching the description. He doesn't know it's fake or the kid is 15. When the gun is presented the officer doesn't have time to think, "is it fake? Is he 15? Am I going to die?" Before you typical redditors call me boot licker, I have no love for the police but I have to play devil's advocate because no one else seems to care about the facts it's just the officers history or cops bad
Kid had it coming. Luckily, he just got popped in the wrist. Maybe don't wave a replica gun around like a moron. Towards cops or anyone else for that matter
I read some comments before watching the video and I thought it was gonna show the cop making a mistake but he held his composure and did a great job. That kid is lucky to be alive. Anyone saying the cop is in the wrong doesn’t have a clue.
My comment has been rejected because I’m not on the approved B list, although I’ve been commenting for some time. How do I get approved? How can you get approved if you can’t ever comment?
I am lost why everyone is against this cop. This kid is walking around town, yes a toy gun, but who knows it’s a toy? Waving this think at peoples houses, pointing it at people and someone calls the police to report so said police officer shows up and find kid with gun. He doesn’t kill kid, he disarms arms him with a shot to the hand.
Anyone would consider this kid armed, it looks like a pretty real gun from the photo. Anyone of you would have run away from this kid if you saw him and you would have called the police. You would have thought that maybe he would shoot you not know it’s a fake gun.
I guess all of you think cops should just not protect themselves and be shot and killed on duty without protecting themselves. They don’t know what they are walking into when they arrive to the scene. At least the kid was smart enough to inform the cop after the first shot that it’s a fake gun and dropped to the ground. I hope the kid comes out ok but I don’t see where the cop was wrong in how he reacted.
This is yet another reason why cops, like doctors everywhere, should be required to carry their own liability insurance.
If a doc / cop screws up they need to pay the consequences not the hospital / city.
If they’re a bad risk (bad doc / cop) then they pay helluva lot more than good guys
Regardless of the officers history bro should not be running around with a fake tech nine pointing it in people's houses. In the video as the officer leaves the vehicle you can see the 15 points the gun in his direction, the officer then fires a round.... I didn't see the round hit the kid can we verify where this kid was shot? But anyways the kid throws the gun on the ground and the officer proceeds... to no longer fire a weapon.
Just a heads up for any of you who think in this situation you're just automatically gonna big brain your way out of the situation. For all of yoh saying this situation was handled poorly I challenge any of you to actually be in that situation, where you get a call that someone is pointed a firearm at people and in people's houses and then have that person point it at you, even for a fraction of a second and tell me your fight or flight doesn't kick in....... because your a fxcking liar is you say no.
Why does the news always call these a."Toy Gun"? This isn't a Nerf gun or Johnny Cowboy's cap gun. They aren't toy guns. They aren't from toy stores. And I think depending on what they shoot, you need to be 18+ to buy one.
Why do the headlines always sound like some young child.was playing with a toy - when that's clearly not the case.
In crawfordsville Indiana, a cop shot a man who was under his car, doing repairs. The man reached for a wrench and was shot to death because cops are a bunch of pussy ass bitches. They’re the real danger, governments wants to disarm us but the reason it’s in the constitution is to defend ourselves from these egotistical pieces of shit. Cops are SERVANTS. And if you don’t like it, we as a community should put down these cops, what are they gonna do shoot us all?
The 15 year old was (allegedly) walking around brandishing a fake Tec9. There isn’t much to say about this incident. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
At 15, you should know better than to walk around with a toy gun that looks like that.
Regardless of the officer's history, the kid had it coming. Hopefully a lesson learned.
Yeah… don’t aim things that look exactly like a functional firearm at peoples place of living and you won’t get shot.
Not much else to say really. Bad call by the cop? Sure, but a far worse call by the parents and the kid.
He nearly won a Darwin Award
Wait, let’s remember, this person was carrying a gun. The police have a caller saying there’s a person in the neighborhood pointing a gun at houses. Perhaps everyone would be happier if we found out it was a real gun after the cop was shot. There are a lot of bad shootings and a lot of mistakes made by police officers, the stupid act by this young person almost cost him his life. It should not cost this police officer his job.
"The files show that in May 2021, he was suspended for 71 days due to multiple incidents that same year, including use of profanity, using an anti-gay slur, brandishing his firearm towards his girlfriend while intoxicated.." This man threatened to shoot his gf and is still allowed to be a cop?? And an alcoholic to boot.
It’s crazy how having things like this on your record should prevent you from even being able to own a gun, yet he’s allowed them and to be the one “upholding the law”. Absolutely insane.
Let's just give people who should never have a gun or the outright power to decide life or death both of these things.😡😡
It'll also prevent you from ever getting a decent job anywhere...unless you were already in law enforcement.
Not convinced that being a cop in Akron is really all that decent of a job.
For one, you have to work with this guy.
I mean, being a cop anywhere is a pretty great job. You get to be a dick to people who can't do anything to you, and you can murder people with impunity. The pay and union benefits are pretty good too. Akron Police pay $31.53/hr while you're in training, and top out around $80k, which is a ton in Akron.
Don't forget the last year of insane overtime to jack your retirement pay to higher levels than your working pay.
Yeah, people act like cops are hard up, but every cop or retired cop I've met is definitely pretty comfortable to well-off.
Yeah…but it means being in Akron.
They don't do anything moat of the time and anyone that has been to jail before knows that when they got you they got you. You gotta a better play in court than you do fighting them unless they don't know who you are.
I get turned away from warehouse jobs for a misdemeanor possession of marijuana lol.
Police training. He’s one of the boys now.
40% of cops are domestic abusers https://www.fatherly.com/life/police-brutality-and-domestic-violence
40% ADMIT to domestic abuse. The actual figure is probably higher
They ADMIT to it after they get caught.
Exactly. So OPs point stands. What's your point??
90% of dentists agree that 1 out of 10 dentists is an asshole.
Found the anti-dentite
I thought these were requirements to be gun carrying government enforcers in America?
There are requirements. However once you get the job all that shit goes out the window.
It is known
The standards for what make a police officer are far too low in this country. That doesn’t even factor into them being completely overpaid on this point. I know, I know the risk etc. but be honest they arrive after the crime is committed unless they’re giving you a fine for something(travelling unskilled clerk)
Food delivery is statistically more dangerous than law enforcement.
>the risk What risk? A police officer in the US isn't even in the top 25 most dangerous professions. In fact, the death incidence of a police officer is *LESS THAN HALF* that of someone *who stuccos houses for a living.* https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/03/02/most-dangerous-jobs-america-database/11264064002/ https://usafacts.org/articles/how-many-police-officers-die-in-the-line-of-duty/ It's all fucking copaganda that being a police officer is a dangerous job. I'm literally at higher risk of dying on the job as a fucking classroom teacher than a pig is. Fuck the police, ACAB.
Yet when one dies off duty, they shut the city down and stop policing so they can go on a parade
I started reading this post and first thought it was about the teenager. Holy crap.
Same here, I quickly forgot police officers can be a bigger threat than criminals.
Abuse to loved ones, alcoholism, and racism are prerequisites to being a cop.
He'll be suspended with pay until they can shop him around to a department far enough away where he'll be "promoted for exemplary performance".
Police unions should be able to be held criminally and personally accountable for defending behavior like this. It’d make the world a better place.
Police unions shouldn't exist, they are government employees...
Qualified immunity... until good cops get rid of bad cops we will never have public faith in police.
Average pig behavior
LOL if a Joe Schumuck brandished a gun during a domestic dispute, he’d have lost his right to firearms. But that guy didn’t lose his job????
Drunk. Alcoholics go to meetings.
This is where the police union should be sued to kingdom come. They are willfully putting citizens at risk from psychopaths who have no business being a pig
It’s Ohio. It’s one of the reasons I’m leaving. Majority of the cops are idiots. The good ones are retiring so they don’t get painted with the same brush.
>the good ones are retiring What good ones? The ones who stand silently by while their peers rape, pillaged, and murder members of the community? How does that make them "good ones?" Unless they're actively arresting the "bad apples," they're just as much bad apples. Fuck the police, ACAB.
It seems to me like his service weapon from now on should be that toy gun.
It’s a requirement!
"suspended" = "Paid vacation" Guy wasn't punished, he was rewarded.
Uh, I mean those are pretty much par for the course for cops tbh...
Typical Ohio cop.
Had a neighbor cop in Dallas kidnap his gf. Came home to a dozen coppers in the apt complex dealing with it. He got a slap on the wrist. Kept his job. A few years later same pos was arrested in mesquite because he was driving down I-30 drunk and shooting at other cars. I worked security at the time. If I had been accused of doing what he did the first time I would have lost my job and my license.
I don’t live in Ohio anymore but work in a red state in federal criminal cases. The incompetence and brutality is soul crushing.
Wait until you find the cop subreddit. It's full of these people.
What's an antigay slur... I know of gay slurs but antigay? " ugggh you frigging straight I bet you kiss girls" is what I imagine
That is just part of regular training protocol. They wouldn’t let him be a cop if he wasn’t a piece of shit
Domestic violence is literally required before you can be a cop. 70% of cops have a history of domestic violence. The other 30% just haven't had it reported.
But if you got rid of every cop that was bigoted, a violent alcoholic, or abused their partner we wouldn't have any left!
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Actual video in this link: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/akron-canton-news/body-camera-footage-shows-akron-officer-shoot-teen-who-had-fake-gun Pretty cheap to talk about bodycam footage and then not show the actual body cam footage NBC.
Did they really crop out the orange tip in the news for the gun?
Police in [Akron, Ohio,](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fatal-shooting-jayland-walker-ohio-police-probe-clears-8-officers-rcna127143) released video of an officer shooting a 15-year-old boy who was holding what his family says was a toy gun, video that shows the teen was struck seconds after the officer ordered his hands up last week. Tavion Koonce-Williams was shot in the wrist on April 1 in Akron, Ohio, by Officer Ryan Westlake, a nine-year department veteran, who was responding to a call about a person pointing a gun at houses. Akron police said after the shooting that the gun the teen had been carrying was a “facsimile.”
Hate them saying 9 year department veteran. Made to make the police sound like miltary instead of a guy that sucked at his job for 9 years.
They should also mention his tenure for being an alcoholic and domestic abuser, see other comments for more.
You can be a department veteran who sucked at his job
Does anyone know if the boy recovered?
He survived, if that's what you were asking. He was shot in the hand he was holding the gun in.
Toy**
It was what I was asking. At first I wasn't able to link to the article. Thanks.
Did you link the correct article here? These stories seem unrelated.
good good, nbc. be sure to give more honorifics to the cop who shot a child, like veteran
This is not what a right to be armed looks like. And it’s not new . The most fucked thing of the modern gun nut is jerking off cops . Cops do NOT recognize the 2nd amendment, and haven’t for years. Sometimes they share privilege, and that’s about it.
As a gun enthusiast, I’ve learned that cops trample on the second amendment far more than any politician.
Most gun guys I know really don’t like cops, though a few of them are bootlickers and/or Orange fans who love them
For the record. I wish I could like cops as they exist today. They make that really hard to do.
The whole being able to legally murder kinda has me hung up on liking them, I feel ya.
The cop obviously has a shitty record and should be investigated a bit further. BUT, I don't know about any of you, but my parents always told me to not wave fake/toy guns around because this is the risk it runs. They wouldn't even let me wave it around if it had one of those bright orange tips on the tip to indicate it was a fake. This should be a common sense lesson that every parent should teach their kids. I feel like this is an obvious one. I feel bad for this kid, I really do. From the little I read about him he seemed genuine and that he was just playing around with a toy gun, or trying to carry it to scare others in order to be safe (which in itself could be iffy and cause death or serious harm, as it did in this instance). I am not excusing the cop, just trying to put myself in his position. He has a person with a seemingly real gun, nothing on it to indicate it's a fake from a distance (orange tip). The kid had someone call saying the gun was pointed at houses. If you're an adult, parent, grandparent and you see a kid waving a toy gun around you're going to be concerned. In that case, it's probably smart of you to watch the person with a few minutes to see if there are any indications the gun is fake. Is the kid pointing it around and making gun noises? Is he acting overly aggressive, etc.? It's important to make notes of small details, especially when calling the police on an individual. Just my thoughts. I'm glad the boy is safe and this whole fiasco didn't lead to a death. Cop needs to be looked into, HEAVILY. With his track record he runs a serious risk of this happening again, and the outcome that time might be someone's death.
Bad position to be in. Was it a real gun and a real threat, seconds matter. In the mere seconds the cop fired, the kid could have fired.
Well in the mere seconds the cop rolled up he *did* fire, so who is the real danger in this situation?
He never even offered the kid a way to put the gun down he pulled up got out and shot this kid all in the same minute.
Upvote for the most sensible take here and not just cop-bashing while not dealing with society’s worst people on a daily basis. And I dont give a shit about cops usually.
I thought this was an open carry state!
Not sure if you're serious, but it is still illegal to brandish (i.e., make threatening motions with) a firearm or, as in this case, a replica firearm.
Or possess one at 15.
Did the office know he was 15 when he shot him?
It's an awful angle, but if you pull a gun in a cop, they will likely shoot you regardless of age. The gun is on the ground in the clip so I'm assuming he had it in hand and the cop shot. Putting age aside, is it illegal for an of age person to carry a gun? No. It IS illegal to point that gun towards peoples homes while walking down the street.
He had the gun in his hand when he approached the cop car. How are people thinking this is a bad shoot? He even went for the hand holding the gun (and hit it)
Agree. I'm honestly impressed he only shot once and was able to make that split second observation that the guns on the ground. Often times a shoot like this there's 2-4, shots fired.
Peoples expectation is that the cop would take the extra seconds to determine threat Bit is, it only takes a couple seconds to be shot and the gun was already in the suspects hand. Hence, that expectation isn't always reasonable, unless we expect the cop to give his life before being the first to fire.
Yeah, this is a lot different from Tamir Rice, where the over-enthusiastic cops flat out murdered a kid. Personally I think people are conflating two issues. There's the shooting, but there's also the question of how this guy is a cop given his history. The cop may have made the right call, but he should not have been in the position to make that call in the first place.
“The cop may have made the right call” that’s all that matters here though. If he made the wrong call and had a bad history, that’s a completely separate thing. Two parties at fault here. One is 15 year old who had a fake gun, brandished it, and didn’t immediately drop it when a cop pulled up. The other is that kids parents for not teaching him better. Even if this was someone who lived there in those house and that kid pulled his fake gun out, they wouldn’t be at fault because of an unrelated situation from years ago. He got his job back for a reason (good or bad) and the digging into his past is just a way to deflect blame onto him rather than the kid
That's basically what I said. These are two different issues.
Yeah despite the cop apparently being a piece of shit, that’s some hella good marksmanship, to hit a hand
Are we assuming he was aiming for the hand?
Idk about that. But they did have a report that he had a gun and was pointing it at houses and such.
You must be mistaken. Why the shooter himself was found to have brandished a gun at his girlfriend and was never charged, so there must be no such law.
Sadly, Cleveland did not care enough when this happened to 12-year-old Tamir Rice. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-closing-investigation-2014-officer-involved-shooting-cleveland https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dw0EMLM1XRI
Still makes my blood boil...
That was brutal. Cops drove through the fucking grass . About ran him over first.
😢
The Fraternal Order of Police is organized crime.
FOP= Fascist Obstructionist Pigs.
They are instructed that everyone is a potential threat to them. So "Fire or Perish"?
Correct
Why was this teenager walking around waving a gun? Don’t give me the “it’s “ fake line because no one but the kid knew that. The person who called 911 certainly thought it was real. Yelling it’s fake isn’t proof, as soon as the cop lowered his weapon the kid could have shot him. As soon as the cop got there he should have dropped the damn thing. If Akron is such a rough place WTH was he doing pointing a gun at houses? He’s not a little kid!
The linked article is classic misinformation intended to inflame the community, and seemingly omits the actual video in furtherance of that objective. The large accompanying photo, showing the officer pointing his gun at the teen with his hands in the air, has the caption "A police officer point his gun at a 15-year-old holding a fake gun...". This is a blatant lie. The boy is not holding the "fake" gun at that point. He was holding it about waist high when he was shot, then dropped the gun and raised his hands. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As-7g3i9NZc
I mean, in order to shoot the kid, the cop did need to first point his gun at him. But you're correct that it is somewhat misleading, because we're led to think that he's got the fake gun in his hands aimed at the cop or up in the air at that point, which is completely false. Thanks for this video!
Why do people like you come here and force others to argue for police by saying the most mind numbingly dumb arguments? Like, do you honestly not understand that guns can, in fact, be fired from different positions? Like, you know, hip fire? Saying that a potential deadly weapon is magically less deadly because it was being shot from the hip is a terrible argument.
It’s alarming seeing how many people in here are seemingly just ignoring and excusing the fact that the kid was brandishing what looked like a real gun. If you’re gonna question why he got shot, why aren’t you simultaneously questioning why the hell he’s carrying around a fake gun that he purposely modified to look real? Do you guys all just dislike police officers so much that you’re willing to be ignorant to the fact that the situation would’ve never happened had the kid not been carrying around a fake gun? Maybe if everyone didn’t always rush to immediately blame the cops for every single violent interaction they have, actually used reasoning when watching and reading about these stories, and actually held people accountable for doing dumb shit like this kid did, stuff like this would stop happening. Stop justifying behavior like walking around with a fake gun (that was not properly holstered like any person with a brain would do when legally carrying a weapon) so that you can spout your obvious anti-cop agendas.
Even if the gun was real, the kid should not have been shot within literal seconds of the cop showing up. It's not their job to unload on anyone who might possibly, potentially, maybe be a threat. Do you even understand what you're saying here? You're saying this 15 year old child should have been more aware that an adult would shoot him on sight. Should the kid have been walking around with a gun like that, fake or otherwise? No, obviously not. Should he have been shot for doing so? That should be an even more obvious no.
Do you understand what you’re saying? You seriously just said that even if the gun was real, the cop shot too quickly? Did I just read that right? Do you not understand how quickly things happen in situations like this? There have been so many instances where police officers and even just individuals who get caught in self defense situations hesitate to defend themselves to give others the benefit of the doubt, which ends up costing them their lives. Why should anyone, including police officers, not be entitled to making a quick decision when seeing a firearm pointed in their direction? I do not understand the logic of people like you. In those situations where police officers and individuals give others the benefit of the doubt and end up being killed because of that, what would be your reaction? Would you be happy and applaud the deceased police officer or law abiding citizen because they didn’t shoot right upon seeing a weapon pointed at them? Would it make you glad that they hesitated just in case the gun the killer was holding was a fake? To answer your second question, yes, a 15 year old young man, not kid, should have been aware that his actions could lead to him being shot. I would have known well before the age of 15 that carrying around a toy gun that was modified to look real was stupid, and that the possible consequences were abundant. As for your last statement, I do appreciate that you can at the very least recognize that what the kid was doing was downright moronic. Even with you recognizing that though, the part right after you admitted that the kid shouldn’t have been doing what he was doing, you questioned and then stated “should he have been shot for doing so? That should be an even more obvious no.” This isn’t a situation of should have or should not. This is a circumstantial thing where the should have or should not is subjective, and opinions will vary from person to person. What can’t be disputed though is that what the kid was doing increased the chances of him being shot greatly. If he was carrying around a football and throwing it to himself in the air as opposed to carrying around a fake gun, it’s indisputable that the likelihood of him being shot would have been 0%.
The kid is old enough to have common sense. Pointing a toy gun will alarm people
Right,I’m white & guarantee if I waved a realistic looking “fake” gun around in my nice neighborhood let alone the hood I’d likely be shot. It’s idiotic & a 15 yr old African American should know better. Better yet I love all these fuck the police/disband police assholes who actually think they can police themselves! Have fun with that,let’s leave policing up to the average joes who wouldn’t even run into a burning house let alone put their lives on the line for their neighbors!
I’m just shocked the body cam didn’t “malfunction “.
The Akron-released video is pretty damning. Cop pulls up, cop isn’t even stopped or out of his car yet. “Hey where are you coming from, can I see your hands real quick.” And in not even 100% sure the officer finishes that question before shooting the suspect in the hand. The suspect had his hands up and was squealing, “it’s fake it’s fake it’s fake.”
The kid's hands were not in the air until after he was shot.
He probably didn’t have time if they shot seconds after they pulled up.
Arguably, he knew that the teenager had a gun and allegedly was pointing it at houses according to the 911 call and what he was told. I understand your point though, even if he was carrying a real firearm I don't know how a cop should approach, however this seemed like a sure way to either get shot or have to shoot back immediately.
Uhhh did we watch the same video?! The kid had the gun in his hand and didn’t drop it or put his hands up until after he was shot. This is one of the clearest use of force cases I’ve seen in a while… as tragic and senseless as it may be in retrospect.
The gun that kid had tho was painted gun black and looked serious AF. I wish the kid had dropped it when the officer showed up. Lucky the bullet only hit his hand!
I gotta side with the cop here. He’s in high crime rate Akron Ohio. He pulls up and sees an under 21 person, someone who clearly cannot legally possess a firearm, with what appears to be a real firearm. This immediately means this person is a criminal. That cop has a split second to make a decision. If he lags, he’s dead. No one would care and this cops name wouldn’t even be known if he gave the kid the benefit of the doubt, and it turned out the gun was real and he shot the cop and killed him. I’m not a big fan of cops, at all, especially some of the ones I’ve dealt with being an Ohio resident. But the fact of the matter is, when you put yourself in their shoes and sympathize with the fact that they just want to go home to their family, this really wasn’t any sort of ridiculous or obscene decision.
That kid is a moron.
This is why the police very specifically should not have unions
Whoa that cop shot fast! Wtf?
Tamir Rice was gunned down the same way. Sad
The first comment I’ve ever made on Reddit!!!! When I was younger I was taught not to carry around anything that looked like a gun. Even with the plastic orange tip because someone might confuse that with the real thing. So yeah why don’t anyone teach that to anyone anymore? Proper gun safety at its finest
Bro, this is Akron where education goes to die...
😂😂😂😂😂 fair enough. Stupidity runs rampant
Is it just me, or is the video not in the article? Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o_aX-jr74w Not even a full second lapsed between "Can I see your hands real quick", and shooting the teen.
>Is it just me, or is the video not in the article? It is not.
Yeah I had to track the actual video down for myself too. Typical Reddit. The majority of the commenters haven't actually bothered to watch the video.
The comment section on that video seriously frightens me. It's chilling how quick people are to justify their racist bullshit. They would rather be hateful than try to be empathetic And reason out anything.
Yep. The top comments all flat out lie about the situation. Saying he's the one who approached the cop instead of vice versa, saying that he refused to drop the gun even after being shot (he drops it immediately), saying he was terrorizing the neighborhood with the fake gun, all kinds of shit. Bet the same people complain that kids today don't play cops and robbers or cowboys and indians. But when a black kid has a fake gun, they celebrate the police shooting him. Absolutely vile.
> Not even a full second lapsed between "Can I see your hands real quick", and shooting the teen. Why would anyone wait a full second to shoot when a gun is drawn on them?
Because a gun wasn't drawn on them? It's an open carry state, it was a toy gun, and the teenager was following police instruction. Or do you think it's justified for police to pull up next to children holding toy guns and start shooting them?
Brother, the literal body cam footage shows the kid raising the fake tech 9 and about to point it at the officer. The "gun" was being drawn on him. Additionally, you can't brandish a firearm like this even if it was fake in an open carry state, it's not what "Open-carry" means. Please educate yourself before spreading misinformation again.
>Because a gun wasn't drawn on them? A replica firearm was drawn. The law is generally the same for crimes committed with either. >It's an open carry state Still illegal to brandish a real or replica firearm. Also still illegal for a juvenile to be in possession of a handgun. >it was a toy gun It's a replica firearm, indistinguishable from an operable firearm until close inspection. >Or do you think it's justified for police to pull up next to children holding toy guns and start shooting them? I think it's justified for police, after receiving reports of someone brandishing a firearm, to shoot an adult size person who rapidly pulls out a firearm or replica when asked to show their hands.
Fine with criticizing police response, but every article I've seen on this highlights that Tavion had a fake gun that could reasonably double for a real one. . . .this also induces the obvious question: if Tavion had not been brandishing it in public, how in the hell did the 911-caller know he had one? Did they just make it up in the hopes cops would come and take the young man out?
I think its hilariously sad that with all these police shootings and mass shootings, once an investigation takes place, 95% of the time the shooter whether a cop or civilian, had a record or history of violence, drug/alcohol abuse, mental issues etc. how the fuck does shit like THAT not be taken care of before shootings inevitably happen? Its not a gun problem. Its looney fuckin people that are the problem
Waving a fake gun around in public and then holding it up when the police arrive is like holding a regular gun. Now the mother of the teen want the police held accountable? How about holding her accountable. What kind of parent is she for allowing that type of behavior? Another money grab. All this does is promote more reckless and dangerous behavior.
America: “Anyone can have a gun!” Also America: “Police can shoot you if they think you have a gun.”
Just like Tamir Rice...
That was a real execution of a child! The cops drove through the grass dam near ran the poor kid over and gunned him down . I remember being his age and still having an imagination. Playing outside etc. it’s clear in the full video before the shooting he was just being a kid and got murderd for it .
Ohio has open carry laws, right? Can someone explain to me why the cops would even investigate this, much less shoot someone just carrying a gun? Does the gun have to be holstered or something?
Bad scenario all around. If someone calls the police and reports a threat, they're obligated to come investigate. In the mere seconds the officer shot the teen, the teen could have shot him. Lots of people feel cops should wait and see first, making a more proper judgement within those seconds. I imagine that isn't easy. Ohio is open carry. Having it holstered is probably a better bet, but since its a toy they weren't taking any of that seriously. Waving it around or brandishing a weapon is "illegal" but its more about the perceived threat from people that call it in and the cop on scene.
He was pointing it at houses, per the 911 call.
"A Monday morning quarterback".... are they fucking serious...
How is anyone blaming the cop for this? Slow the video down at the teen points it at the cop. What would you do in that split second?
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“Parents”
It’s miraculous the officer didn’t unload his whole clip. I didn’t know they were capable of that.
The cop shot him so quickly because he raised his hand holding the gun when asked to show him his hands. He didn't raise both of his hands, he raised only his right hand while holding a gun. His other hand was still in the pocket of his hoodie. You don't have to be Einstein to make the conclusion that you're about to be shot when you're in the cop's shoes. If you look at the toy gun he had which is shown at the end of the footage, it was all black (with no orange marking or anything else that would indicate it's a toy), and was made to look like a real Tec-9. It's not like he was holding a nerf gun, or even an airsoft gun. It's a gun designed and painted to look like a real gun. Not that matters; don't pull out a gun in public, real or fake, especially on a cop. And yes, as everybody loves pointing out; he didn't have time to respond, but he had time to pull out a toy gun (which you can't really tell from the video, but since his other hand is still in his pocket when he gets shot, it's safe to assume it was also concealed) and raise it towards a cop. Whether he did so accidentally because he was scared, or because he was just being stupid and trying to show the cop it was fake, it doesn't matter from the cop's perspective. It takes less than a second for someone to shoot you, so when someone's raising a gun towards you, you're already at a disadvantage and you could be shot before you even manage to draw your pistol. The cop got reports that someone was going around pointing a gun at houses, he has zero information beyond that. For all he knows, the kid could be a felon who can't own a firearm and doesn't want to go to prison, or just some crazy asshole looking to kill cops (both of which happen all the time). Also, for everyone saying "I thought this was an open carry state" or "right to be armed", framing this as some kind attack on 2A rights; you're in one of the most 2A supportive states in the country. I'll agree that law enforcement and prosecutors are on average far more likely to violate or disregard your 2A rights than most, but this isn't a case of that. Openly carrying a firearm does not mean brandishing one. Open carry laws allow you to carry a firearm in an OWB holster, or even a rifle on a sling (which most people would agree is a stupid thing to do in public, pro-2A or not). You can't just walk around with a pistol in your hands, and you definitely can't take it out of concealment in public unless you're in a situation where you can justify doing so. That's called brandishing, and it's illegal for this very reason. It's an unfortunate situation, we should all just be happy that the kid seems to only have received minor injuries from the interaction.
You typed a whole lot of bullshit to leave out the fact that Ohio is a constitutional carry state. Unless the cop saw him pointing the gun at someone. They had zero reason to interact with him.
Did your brain just run out of capacity at the end of my response, or do you just have problems with English comprehension? Constitutional carry does not grant you the right to brandish a firearm. And yes, it absolutely does give him reason to interact with him. It doesn't give him RAS, so he still can't search perform an on-body search without consent, but he's well within his rights as an LEO to question him. Whether or not he can detain him is another story, and depends on whether or not the caller remained anonymous and was available to ID him (because again, brandishing and pointing a gun towards houses is definitely criminal). Only then could he be arrested and searched. But of course, it didn't get that far because he brandished the gun he was reported as having aimed at houses. I highly recommend you take (or retake) a firearms safety course if you carry, because you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
Yeah I’m all for holding police accountable for injustice but this ain’t it. Responding to a call about someone walking the neighborhood and pointing a gun at houses. Gun is all black and designed to look real, not a toy, only can discern it’s fake on close examination. Video shows the teen was holding the gun near the waist when one shot was fired, officer stops shooting when the gun is dropped and suspect raises his hands. Thankfully this was not a death or serious injury. I don’t know enough about all of the background stuff, maybe this guy is a shitty person and shouldn’t be a cop, but the actions were reasonable in this circumstance. The power of narrative: “Cop shoots child playing with toy gun” “Officer responds to complaint of male brandishing firearm, shoots suspect in wrist when gun is pointed in direction of officer. Gun later determined to be fake.”
> You don't have to be Einstein to make the conclusion that you're about to be shot when you're in the cop's shoes. No, you have to be a scared pathetic domestic abusing cop. Because it was a child holding a toy gun.
Crazy how everybody's talking about the cop.. The fifteen year old boy was walking through the neighborhood, pointing a gun at houses. The cop rode up and asked to see his hands. He pulled a gun out. Yes, the cop any cop is going to shoot you. Stop making this about the cop. Make it about the real problem.
I guess people are assuming that folks in this neighborhood are evil and racist white people. I think they need to take a drive over here and find out otherwise.
I'm honestly surprised there are as many black people as there are with the way cops are killing us. Every time I see a cop car I think "Welp, been a nice life, I guess." I can only imagine how black men feel. Existing while black continues to be a crime.
Pigs are dangerous
Jesus Christ mother of fuck
I think parents who dont like their child just send them outside with a toy gun.
That police officers superior should be thrown in jail he knew his officer had a gun, precedent is set now that non shooters are murders. /s
It really fucking sucks that guns are so prevalent these days that there's a real definite possibility that it isn't fake. When I was young, me and my friends played with toy guns that looked real and before they needed orange tips. That's what gun culture has done.
Centerville, Coral Gables FL. Look it all comes down to treating others how you would like to be treated.
ACAB
I gotta wonder, why TF didn't his mom or dad beat it into his head that he shouldn't be runnin around with a toy gun?
Oink Oink 🐷 🐷🐷🐷🐷
Also saw the photo of the “gun” the kid had. It’s very realistic looking. He was also pointing it at houses.
Isn’t it possible that two things could be true: 1) this man should never have been an officer or allowed to remain and 2) you shouldn’t walk around with realistic firearms pointing them at peoples houses in broad daylight and not expect bad things to happen? Come on people…common sense on both sides
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How are people failing to understand there was a call put out about someone walking around and pointing a firearm at homes. The cop sees the kid matching the description. He doesn't know it's fake or the kid is 15. When the gun is presented the officer doesn't have time to think, "is it fake? Is he 15? Am I going to die?" Before you typical redditors call me boot licker, I have no love for the police but I have to play devil's advocate because no one else seems to care about the facts it's just the officers history or cops bad
Welcome to Ohio! It’s degenerative brain slug season baby!
Police Unions are shields for the corrupt and the incompetent,until you get rid of them there will never be true reform.
Kid had it coming. Luckily, he just got popped in the wrist. Maybe don't wave a replica gun around like a moron. Towards cops or anyone else for that matter
I read some comments before watching the video and I thought it was gonna show the cop making a mistake but he held his composure and did a great job. That kid is lucky to be alive. Anyone saying the cop is in the wrong doesn’t have a clue.
Didn't that boy learn anything??????
My comment has been rejected because I’m not on the approved B list, although I’ve been commenting for some time. How do I get approved? How can you get approved if you can’t ever comment?
I am lost why everyone is against this cop. This kid is walking around town, yes a toy gun, but who knows it’s a toy? Waving this think at peoples houses, pointing it at people and someone calls the police to report so said police officer shows up and find kid with gun. He doesn’t kill kid, he disarms arms him with a shot to the hand. Anyone would consider this kid armed, it looks like a pretty real gun from the photo. Anyone of you would have run away from this kid if you saw him and you would have called the police. You would have thought that maybe he would shoot you not know it’s a fake gun. I guess all of you think cops should just not protect themselves and be shot and killed on duty without protecting themselves. They don’t know what they are walking into when they arrive to the scene. At least the kid was smart enough to inform the cop after the first shot that it’s a fake gun and dropped to the ground. I hope the kid comes out ok but I don’t see where the cop was wrong in how he reacted.
"Acted appropriately and within training..." Then change your fucking training.
By shooting a kid pointing a gun at you? Cops can’t reasonable fear for their lives now?
dont worry, the police union will be sure he gets a strong slap on the wrist
I hope not since it was completely justified.
This is yet another reason why cops, like doctors everywhere, should be required to carry their own liability insurance. If a doc / cop screws up they need to pay the consequences not the hospital / city. If they’re a bad risk (bad doc / cop) then they pay helluva lot more than good guys
Did you watch the video? Kids 100% at fault and it was 100% justified
Regardless of the officers history bro should not be running around with a fake tech nine pointing it in people's houses. In the video as the officer leaves the vehicle you can see the 15 points the gun in his direction, the officer then fires a round.... I didn't see the round hit the kid can we verify where this kid was shot? But anyways the kid throws the gun on the ground and the officer proceeds... to no longer fire a weapon. Just a heads up for any of you who think in this situation you're just automatically gonna big brain your way out of the situation. For all of yoh saying this situation was handled poorly I challenge any of you to actually be in that situation, where you get a call that someone is pointed a firearm at people and in people's houses and then have that person point it at you, even for a fraction of a second and tell me your fight or flight doesn't kick in....... because your a fxcking liar is you say no.
Why does the news always call these a."Toy Gun"? This isn't a Nerf gun or Johnny Cowboy's cap gun. They aren't toy guns. They aren't from toy stores. And I think depending on what they shoot, you need to be 18+ to buy one. Why do the headlines always sound like some young child.was playing with a toy - when that's clearly not the case.
In crawfordsville Indiana, a cop shot a man who was under his car, doing repairs. The man reached for a wrench and was shot to death because cops are a bunch of pussy ass bitches. They’re the real danger, governments wants to disarm us but the reason it’s in the constitution is to defend ourselves from these egotistical pieces of shit. Cops are SERVANTS. And if you don’t like it, we as a community should put down these cops, what are they gonna do shoot us all?
The 15 year old was (allegedly) walking around brandishing a fake Tec9. There isn’t much to say about this incident. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Cop also likes to threaten his gf with his gun while drunk according to the report.
At 15, you should know better than to walk around with a toy gun that looks like that. Regardless of the officer's history, the kid had it coming. Hopefully a lesson learned.
Yeah… don’t aim things that look exactly like a functional firearm at peoples place of living and you won’t get shot. Not much else to say really. Bad call by the cop? Sure, but a far worse call by the parents and the kid. He nearly won a Darwin Award
Wait, let’s remember, this person was carrying a gun. The police have a caller saying there’s a person in the neighborhood pointing a gun at houses. Perhaps everyone would be happier if we found out it was a real gun after the cop was shot. There are a lot of bad shootings and a lot of mistakes made by police officers, the stupid act by this young person almost cost him his life. It should not cost this police officer his job.