This discussion about whether a BB gun is lethal is totally off track.
I have no doubt that the officer did not recognize it as a BB pistol.
I'm thinking about the videos you see with LEO standing in front of a screen showing all manners of threats and where they have to make a split second decision that will mean the difference between going home that day or not.
I can understand how a tragedy like this happens but I also understand that a LEO has to take extraordinary caution to stay alive in the hood. Seconds matter.
The dispatcher should have relayed that the caller thought it was a toy gun. That might have made a difference. The idiot kid should have complied with the officer's commands.
Was the officer too quick on the draw?
Nope. Not when the suspect doesn't follow the officer's commands and goes for his "weapon".
