San Jose boy cited after pointing fake gun at school

A 12-year-old boy has been cited by San Jose police for aiming a fake handgun at his school after he got into a fistfight.

The replica gun -- which can shoot plastic pellets -- was unloaded, police said, and no one was injured in the incident. The boy was cited for "brandishing a replica firearm in a threatening manner."

Although such guns are readily available, they can be extremely dangerous, experts said. Because they look virtually identical to real weapons, officers have shot people who are armed with them. In July, Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies looking for an illegal marijuana-growing operation shot and killed a man when he brandished a pellet rifle at them"

They are dangerous because they can cause the police to go batshit and shoot to kill. I see. Beg, pardon, EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

Nowhere in the article is the word "toy" mentioned, because police have long asked that "replica", and "fake" be used instead, since even they get embarrassed now and again from the very idea of employing deadly force upon a child, usually, who is doing nothing more than playing cops and robbers or soldiers and indians or liberals and real people. Fellow I know who teaches journalism at the University of Florida says that the Sheriff's office has often petitioned the school, as well as the local newspapers and TV stations, to try and refrain from the word "toy" because these "replica's" are...wait for it...wait for it....

...too dangerous to be called toys. Local radio guy I spoke with said he knew of no such agreement with his station, then added that all they do is read verbatim the AP or local paper's accounting of such an event anyway.


Time was when every cop had a kid who played with toy guns, and every rookie who didn't teamed with an older cop that did. Familiarity with distinguishing REAL from NOT REAL is important in EVERYONE'S daily activities, but it is entirely possible that someone has indeed left the house then headed to work while driving his son's battery-powered toy Jeep instead of the family's SUV, so the benefit of the doubt shouldn't be summarily dismissed.


Also, law enforcement in the above instance did not make the above sighting, as a passing moron motorist was the one who called police upon witnessing the boy playing with his toy.


California. "Nuff said.