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Henry said he couldn't precisely describe the type of replica weapon Lopez carried because investigators did not include the specific make and model in the police report about the incident.
The weapon had already been booked into evidence and, according to police protocol, couldn't be retrieved without an evidentiary reason just to answer questions from the media.
Source
In response to The Press Democrat's request for a copy of the emergency dispatch recordings of the incident, Henry said investigators had not yet reviewed the recordings.
Henry said that after they do, the police department will discuss the request with the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office, which will ultimately decide whether any criminal wrongdoing took place by any party involved in the shooting.
boncho
I think it's as simple as the police are supposed to be obligated to give their lives for the citizens they protect. There were a few decades where this was the case, and everyone mourned the loss of police life. They were heroes, protectors. They were revered. Because they deserved it.
They get hazard pay for a reason. People were afraid to be police officers because it was dangerous. Now, its more dangerous to be misunderstood by one. Pulling out a cell phone at the wrong time can get you killed.
WhiteAlice
reply to post by OpenMindedRealist
The police have the responsibility to assure public safety, do they not? If a concerned citizen calls the police because of a concern, then the police come out to verify that there is not a problem. That's their job and there is such a thing as common courtesy. They do not know who the person holding the weapon is or what that individual's intent is. There was a video not long ago of a man who opened fire on a police officer after being pulled over for speeding. That kind of thing is a reality for the police officers because, when they are called, they frequently don't know what they are getting themselves into. The person can be absolutely insane, regardless of age. How old was Kip Kinkel? Adam Lanza? Dylan Klebold? Eric Harris?
The other night, I was at a local transit center waiting to pick up a friend when a guy talking on his cell phone turned explosive. He was kicking the heck out of everything (thankfully not people) near him and screaming obscenities at the top of his lungs. There was a mom and a little girl present and I whisked them into my car for safety. It was that bad. The police showed up and talked to the guy. I presumed that somebody had reported the guy's behavior but when the police came up to talk to me, I was corrected in that assumption. The explosive guy had actually called 911 himself. While I was shocked and surprised (I really thought for sure another bystander called the police), the police were slightly baffled and bemused by the situation. Considering their response, they encounter that kind of stuff a lot. They didn't even cite the guy for assaulting transit property...
That's our world and it's unfortunate that we are becoming this world where a kid walking through a neighborhood with a pellet gun can be perceived as a threat and 911 gets called. It's terribly unfortunate for that boy, his family, and the police officer that shot him that we have become so paranoid as a society. This isn't about obeying an order without question. It's about being a respectful stranger.
Should a police officer be held accountable for their actions, or are they unaccountable for their actions?
Do you believe that an officer is better than a citizen?
This so called training officer has long warned against hesitation so yes this mindset played a significant role in what happen that day.
If you find yourself in an ambush, in the kill zone, you need to turn on that mean gene.
...in a life threatening situation.
But back to the topic at hand, this training officer has for many years preached about the need to become what he acknowledges as "mean" and to act without hesitation!
To shoot first and figure out how to articulate the "why" the justification for the action later. He has long preached about how the "I feared for my safety, and the safety of my partner, and others card" can be played to get out of jail.
So he's now found himself in such a situation, and surprise surprise he has played his trump card.
Tell me just how fast can you say, drop your weapon, and then fire 8 times at an unarmed child? Out of 10 very short seconds how long does that give the child to respond? How long does that give the child to live?
Officer Gelhaus was a very outspoken officer, he was a moderator on forums, he was called as an expert witness in firearms, and has a history as an expert witness of giving false witness and seeing assault weapons that are not assault weapons.
With this information are you now willing to acknowledge that yes this very mindset had something to do with what happen?
I've seen nobody here suggest that he be lynched, what I see here are people pointing out he needs to arrested just like any other person would be under this situation, he shot and killed an unarmed child, he shot 8 times a child that was unarmed ~ a child that he called out to and who is guilty of nothing more than to turn to see what was a matter towards him.
If there is any justice in Somama County this man will see his day in court, and the Sheriff's department will be questioned as to exactly why they allow this nut job out on the street armed, they and the sheriff will also be held accountable for their actions! Or lack of actions!
onequestion
What happened to using tazers and #?
How are the cops killing so many people i just dont get it.
THE SILENCE MUST END!
No more secrets. We demand timely, full disclosure of information in all police killings. These are the names of those who died at the hands of Sonoma County law enforcement, since a 1999 recommendation from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission Advisory Commission for a Civilian Review Board:
1. Philip Medina, 48, January 17, 2000 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
2. James Curran, 51, March 19, 2000 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
3. Erin Colleen McDonald, 31, April 20, 2000 shot five times Windsor Police Fuston/Howard
4. Todd Eugene Dieterle, 37, May, 2000 shot seven times SRJC Police
5. Robert Comacho, 35, May 5, 2000 shot Rohnert Park Police
6. Patrick McLoughlin, 19, October 23, 2001 gunfire exchange Petaluma Police
7. Luis Solaro Gonzalez, 23, February 28, 2002 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
8. Thomas John Connelly, 49, May 8, 2002 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
9. Serena Roxanne Case, 32, January 16, 2003 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
10. Keith Thompson Suite, 42, April 8, 2003 injured in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
11. Seth Micha Warde, 22, July 10, 2003 traffic stop CHP
12. Anthony Zakharoff, 49, July 27, 2003 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
13. Michael W. Behringh, 52, November 18, 2003 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
14. Joseph A. Peay, 35, September 18, 2004 shot 10 times Sheriff/CHP
15. Kenneth Hugh Duncan, 62, November 11, 2004 shot nine times Sonoma County Sheriff
16. April Hanlon 35, November 25, 2004 gunfire Sonoma County Sheriff
17. Terry Lee Grinner, Jr., 30, January 25, 2005 shot twice Rohnert Park Police
18. Carlos Casillas Fernandez, 31, July 16, 2005 tasered 6x Santa Rosa Police
19. James Anthony DeCosta, 72, October 1, 2005 shot 27 times Petaluma Police
20. James Richard Nace, 42, December 10, 2005 shot Sonoma County Sheriff
21. Moses McDowell, 29, November 6, 2006 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
22. Haki Thurston, 22, February 23, 2007 shot 27 times Santa Rosa SWAT
23. Jeremiah Chass, 16, March 12, 2007 shot 8 times Sonoma County Sheriff
24. Richard DeSantis, 30, April 9, 2007 shot twice Santa Rosa Police
25. Walter L. Heller, 55, April 22, 2007 tasered twice Petaluma Police
26. Luis Felipe Sanchez, 27, May 4, 2007 shot 21 times Sonoma County Sheriff
27. Richard Lamont Williamson, 54, June 17, 2007 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
28. Ryan George, 22, July 9, 2007 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
29. William Townsley, 46, September 24, 2007 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
30. James Marrufo, 48, December 1, 2007 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
31. Jesse Hamilton, 24, January 2, 2008 shot Santa Rosa Police
32. Samuel Castillo-Martinez, 36, March 13, 2008 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
33. Heather Smith-Billings, 31, March 16, 2008 shot Rohnert Park Police
34. Leonardo Pacheco, 39, April 21, 2008 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
35. Guy James Fernandez, 52, November 9, 2008 stun gun Rohnert Park Police
36. Craig Von Dohlen 37, December 7, 2008 shot Sonoma County Sheriff
37. Nathan B Vaughn, 39, December 20, 2008 tasered 3x Sonoma County Sheriff
38. Jon Gerald Moore, 44, September 18, 2009 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
39. Teresa Ellen Hagan, 49, January 21, 2010 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
40. Albert Mike Leday, Jr, 49, June 1, 2010 shot 3x Sonoma County Sheriff Sgt. Mark Fuston
41. Nicodemus Sullivan, 24, October 29, 2010 shot at 42 times Sheriff and CHP
42. Brian Gittings, 44, December 8, 2010 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
43. William Jackson, 59, April 14, 2011 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
44. Richard Shreckengaust, 37, February 28, 2013, shot by Sonoma County Sheriff Deputy Brian Parks
45. Urbano Moreno Morales, 48, June 8, 2013, shot by Windsor Police Sheriff Deputies Andrew Cash and Donald Fletcher
46. Christopher Eric Augustin, 37, October 16, 2013, died after being placed in maximum restraint by Santa Rosa Police officers.
47. Andy Lopez, 13, October 22, 2013, shot by two Sonoma County Sheriff Deputies.
2000-2013 Sonoma County Stolen Lives
Source
I have yet to read one post here that is calling for this officer lynching! Please provide a link.
California describes the taking of any life as a homicide, what some call a murder in less technical terms.
If officer Erick Gelhaus was not an officer he would have been arrested by now, he would not be sitting at home getting a check from the Sheriff's office! Nor if Erick Gelhaus was not an officer would he be getting the kid glove treatment from the Sheriff's office.
...in a life threatening situation. Once again, you have taken the advice out of context.
For years Erick Gelhaus has preached, and has been permitted to preach by the Sheriff about the need not to hesitate, not to think, but to react!
Last week we saw the results of that preaching! He has also longed preach about the power of the "I was afraid for my life and the life of others card" that it empowers one to shot, and if one was wrong get out of jail... In the coming months we will see if he was right about that, personally I hope he was just as right about that as he was about don't hesitate.
I certainly hope that we use this event to establish once again that simply because you have a badge you are NOT above the laws! I hope we choose not to establish two classes of people in this country, one for whom the laws apply and one for whom they do not apply.
I also fear that unless the public becomes aware of certain facts, they will be quietly swept under the rug and forgotten in any future trial. Perhaps that fear is unfounded, perhaps not time will tell. What is certain is already Erick Gelhaus past public statements are being hidden, swept away. The more this occurs the easier it becomes for any future prosecution to ignore these facts.
His lack of hesitation directly cost an unarmed child his life. That lack of hesitation has to be examined and I would suggest needs to be put on trial. Do we as a society want to empower a Judge Dredd concept of law enforcement? Where one man gets to become judge, jury, and executioner based on nothing more than a feeling? Where facts are irrelevant and simply don't matter any longer, where the only thing that matters is that a person armed with lethal weapons "claims" to have felt scared?
We must also remember that more and more Law Enforcement is moving to a position where they control all access to everything. Where they and they alone get to be Judge and jury of their actions. Their communications are now often being encrypted, they no long have to fear being overheard. They refuse to release the tapes of this incident that may go to demostrate just how scared or not scared these officers voices sounded. Or even how they may have joked after the fact. The longer they keep them hidden the longer they have to tamper with them.
And yes they do have reasons to tamper with them, a monetary reason to. They well know they have a history of excessive force being used, and judgements against them!
This is much more than just one man, and a tragic event. More than a simple mistake. More than just bad luck. It's about beliefs, and attitude, and how officers are trained in this county. It's about a Constitutional concept that we are all created equal, and that no one is above the law, no one is better than another.
In six months, a year, do we want this officer back on the streets with his lethal weapons, and his less than 10 seconds opportunity to comply or die, looking at your back? Other officers all around our nation are looking at this case, wondering if all they really need to do is claim they were affraid to cover up any mistake. This case is pivotal to know if we all have targets now painted on our back, and the only thing keeping us alive is the mood of any officer that happens to encounter us today, tomorrow. Clearly this thread and others demonstrates that too many in Law Enforcement believe they have a right to commit homicide and chalk it up to being afraid....
Henry said a witness interviewed the night of the shooting told police investigators he was driving in front of the sheriff's patrol car and, seeing Lopez with the weapon, shouted out to the teen.
“He yelled at the subject that he should put away the weapon because the cops were behind him,” Henry said. “That occurred immediately before this incident. We spoke to him that night, and there is no reason to believe anything he said wasn't true.”
Of course this little child was far more threatening than your adult at the transit center.
What happened to using tazers and #?
A very long list there, and this county can kill with tasers just as effectively as with guns.
October 29, 2013, 7:57 PM
Henry said he couldn't precisely describe the type of replica weapon Lopez carried because investigators did not include the specific make and model in the police report about the incident.
The weapon had already been booked into evidence and, according to police protocol, couldn't be retrieved without an evidentiary reason just to answer questions from the media.
Source
In response to The Press Democrat's request for a copy of the emergency dispatch recordings of the incident, Henry said investigators had not yet reviewed the recordings.
Henry said that after they do, the police department will discuss the request with the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office, which will ultimately decide whether any criminal wrongdoing took place by any party involved in the shooting.
In just a 10-second span, the deputy behind the wheel told police he pulled from the northbound lane of Moorland Avenue into the oncoming lane, turned the emergency lights on, briefly ”chirped” the siren, and got out of the car behind the cover of the open door, Henry said.
Gelhaus fired eight rounds, striking Lopez seven times. Two shots were fatal, according to the preliminary results of a Thursday autopsy.
Gelhaus later told investigators he “couldn't recall” if he had identified himself as law enforcement at the time, Henry said.
Source
There was no time, the second deputy told investigators, according to Henry.
“By the time he had exited his door and taken cover, at that point Deputy Gelhaus had already engaged the subject, with the commands and with the weapon,” Henry said. “The threat was essentially over.”
Neither the deputies nor the patrol car was equipped with audio or video recording equipment, Henry said.
Source