After a fatal police shooting of a 12-year-old boy holding a pellet gun in Cleveland brought a storm of criticism nationally, a group for Ohio law enforcement officers posted a picture on its Facebook page last week showing how even deadly weapons can be made to look like children’s toys.
With the photo, the Sheriff Deputies of Ohio posted a caption saying: “This is a fully functional shotgun, disguised to look like a toy. I suspect that we’ll be seeing more and more of this. Be careful out there.”
The page administrator, identified only as Jeff 1, posted a comment saying altering guns in such a way ”should be a felony.”
The post, however, brought other concerns, including from some who worried that the photo could give criminals ideas on how to conceal weapons.
The administrators of the Sheriff Deputies of Ohio Facebook page dismissed the question.
“Criminals don’t need us to give them ideas like this,” one unnamed administrator said. “It was shared for officer safety reasons as this is primarily a page for cops. Thank you for your comment though. We encourage respectful disagreement.”
The Facebook page, described as a “place to show support for the Sheriff Deputies of Ohio,” includes a disclaimer saying it is not affiliated with any official public agency.
The post comes two weeks after the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot by Cleveland cops while carrying a pellet gun officers mistook as the real thing.
Many officers say it is getting increasingly difficult in today’s age of realistic-looking toy guns to differentiate fakes from real firearms, especially when put in potentially life-threatening situations that require split-second decisions.
Toys that are made to look like guns are one problem. As the Facebook posting makes clear, and police critics should understand, real guns can be disguised as toys too.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Britney Spears shows off her rockin’ new bod, but had to spoil it with a liberal message about ‘Dreamers’ - December 24, 2017
- Border patrol forget they’re supposed to be heartless, deliver beautiful baby at the border - December 24, 2017
- After scoring tax cut victory, Trump sees ‘tremendous Democrat support’ for his next big initiative - December 24, 2017
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
