When are police going to learn that tasers are supposed to be a
Here is the rest of the article. Of course, everyone one is going to sympathize with the kid and the parents, which is understandable. It will lead to somebody in the police department getting in trouble though, just for doing their job....
Longwood, Fla. — The parents of a 15-year-old boy accused of terrorizing classmates with a pistol warned authorities the weapon likely was fake before police shot him in a middle school bathroom, a family lawyer said Saturday.
Christopher Penley, of Winter Springs, was clinically brain dead Saturday, Mark Nation said. “His organs are in the process of being harvested.”
The boy was accused of pulling a pellet gun in a classroom Friday and pointing it at other students. When he later raised the weapon at a deputy, a SWAT team member shot him, authorities said.
Officers who had responded to the 1,100-student school in suburban Orlando believed the gun was a Beretta 9 mm, and didn't learn until after the shooting that it was a pellet gun.
The boy's parents, Ralph and Donna Penley, were in contact with authorities during the incident and told them they believed the boy did not have a real gun, said the family lawyer. Ralph Penley went to the school to attempt to talk his son out of the situation.“When he got to the school, they would not let him in and he was later told Christopher had been shot,” Mr. Nation said.
Friends and investigators say the boy was bullied and emotionally distraught, and went to school that day expecting to die.
Patrick Lafferty, a 15-year-old neighbour who has known Christopher about six years, said he wasn't surprised by what happened. He said Christopher was a loner who “told me he wanted to kill himself dozens of times.”
“He would put his headphones on and walk up and down the street and he would work out a lot,” preferring to keep to himself, he said.
Kelly Swofford, a family spokeswoman and neighbour of the boy's parents, said the boy had run away from home several times. Her 11-year-old son, Jeffery Swofford, said Christopher had said he had something planned.
“He said ‘I hope I die today because I don't really like my life,' ” Jeffery Swofford said.
Maurice Cotey, 13, told WKMG-TV in Orlando that he struggled with Christopher over the gun after everyone else left the classroom.
“He got me towards the closet door, he turned me around, and started to point the gun at me, so I started to grab for it. And he pulled it away and then I grabbed for it one more time, twisted it and I pointed it at him.”
He said after he put the gun to Christopher's legs, the gunman kicked him into the closet, where the two scuffled further, before Christopher ran out of the classroom.
The school went into lockdown.
From there, Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger said, Christopher traversed the Milwee Middle School campus before ending up in a bathroom. By then, more than 40 officers, including SWAT and negotiators, were on scene. He refused to drop the firearm, Sheriff Eslinger said, and was shot after pointing it at a SWAT deputy.
Jeffery Swofford said Christopher had been in a disagreement with someone, allegedly over a girl. There was going to be a fight Friday, he said. “I heard a rumour that he had a BB gun, but I didn't think he really had one,” he added.
1 comment:
I find you comments regarding the "taser as a means to never have to shot anyone at close range" to be woefully ingnorant of taser operation and basic CQB.
As a former law enforcement officer who has used a taser to prevent from having to break a drunken maniacs bones with a baton, I am firmly convinced that the best course of action when a person points a pistol at you is to quickly shoot that individual as many times as needed to have him fall flat on his face and no longer be a threat.
Tasers are unreliable (even Taser international warns against using them against a firearm), and I didn't get paid enought to risk my life more than needed to protect some moron from HIMSELF. That kid wanted to be shot and quite frankly, the gene pool is better off for his demise. He suffered from a "terminal mental health condition".
And now, a public service message:
"People, if you want to kill yourself, please seek help. Medications and couseling can help you escape the demons that are driving you to suicidal thoughts.
Failing that, please, JUMP OFF A FUCKING BRIDGE or something. Cops don't want to have to shoot you, and this "suicide by cop" phenom really pisses me off. I've seen it psychologically ruin more than one decent guy who was just trying to do his job and go home to his family after shift, just like the rest of us....just because some asshole didn't have the balls to kill himself without dragging somebody down with him.
Thank you. :)
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