Cops shoot and kill man holding a toy gun in Walmart

[urbanletter]

I cannot believe the cops or employees could not tell this was a toy gun. But yes the guy should have put it down and told them it was a toy. With all this bad police press going on, you gotta be aware and compliant.

 

[js85]

I think these stories are so stupid and so sad at the same time. I feel for both sides, completely. People forget that police officers are people too, and I can't imagine it's easy to shake off a senseless death on their hand. But they have to be defensive and cautious at all times, so you can't blame them for erring on the side of caution.

 

[Kate]

I cannot believe the cops or employees could not tell this was a toy gun. But yes the guy should have put it down and told them it was a toy. With all this bad police press going on, you gotta be aware and compliant.

Waving the thing around as if it was real gets into the terroristic threats area... and no, it is certainly not always easy to tell the toys from the real thing. Some manufacturers are making them very realistic.

You can't really take the risk that it's real and wait for someone to kill customers without doing something. Then you'd have the "why didn't police doooooo something?!" squawkers.

 

[sharpayvargas1]

Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you're right or wrong as long as you're alive. He should have just listened and followed whatever the police wanted him to do. For the police who shot the poor man, I guess you have studied about how to respond to certain situations and I believe you know that no one can just shoot anyone without getting enough reason to do so. Base on the story and the people who were there during the incident, I don't think the guy even provoked you.

 

[Rockhem]

This guy was waving around a realistic assault rifle. This was a good shoot, it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between that "toy" gun. Police should be able to shoot anyone who points a gun at them, and they even did him a favor by telling him to drop the gun, yet he still refuses to do it. I believe the police were justified, and this is just a terrible thing to happen, but it was justified.

 

[Profit5500]

Waving the thing around as if it was real gets into the terroristic threats area... and no, it is certainly not always easy to tell the toys from the real thing. Some manufacturers are making them very realistic.

You can't really take the risk that it's real and wait for someone to kill customers without doing something. Then you'd have the "why didn't police doooooo something?!" squawkers.

Its just that the guy should not have waved a gun around. The police in this case are probably on administrative leave and would still have their jobs.

 

[GemmaRowlands]

I don't know what must have been going through the man's mind to point the gun at the police officer in the first place, much less what must have made him keep hold of it when he was told to put it down. He should know that if the police had any thoughts that their lives might be in danger, they would have to shoot, because they couldn't risk being shot at by the man with the gun. They weren't to know that it was a toy gun, so if the man was trying to have a joke then he should have picked a funnier subject.

 

[LuckyGirl08]

I read this sorry in the News section and it said that there was some witnesses saying that the officers did not ask any question, they started firing their gun as soon as they got there. I believe that the man would have dropped the toy gun if the police really asked him to. There is no way that a person in their right mind would continue to hold a toy gun in their hand if the police were pointing guns at him/her. I honestly believe that the officers just started shooting with no questions asked.

 

[Rainman]

I don't know what must have been going through the man's mind to point the gun at the police officer in the first place, much less what must have made him keep hold of it when he was told to put it down.

The man did not point the toy gun at the police.

Wright, who has seen store surveillance video of the shooting incident, said Crawford was shot while talking on the phone, holding the butt of the gun with the barrel pointed at the floor.

He was shot on sight.

the [walmart] video shows Crawford standing in the direction of some shelves. He . . . was talking on his cell phone and probably did not see or hear the police officer sent to the store to investigate. In one frame you see Crawford on the phone, the next you see him on the floor.

Apparently he wasn't the only one who died that day.

Angela Williams died after collapsing during a police officer-involved shooting,

 

[helaofthenorns]

This is a really sad story. Thinking about the family of the poor man... This is one of the reasons why I am glad that my country no longer allows the selling of realistic-looking guns. They are often used in robberies. Maybe, those people who saw the man inside Walmart called the police because they panicked. With the rise in cases of shootings there in the U.S., I can't blame them.

 

[MyOCDisMild]

I had to chime in because there's more that's been released about this case that makes it even more tragic, in my opinion. One, the police were both right and wrong, because they responded to the call based on the information given over the phone by what they believed to be an 'ex-marine', reports that Mr. Crawford was walking from aisle to aisle waving the gun around, pointing it at children, etc., Turns out, the 'ex-marine' recanted his story, stating that Crawford DID NOT at any time point the gun at anyone.

The ex marine isn't even a marine..he was dismissed for "fraudulent enlistment". There is a video released and it appears that Crawford wasn't even aware that the police were there, as he never turned toward them or pointed the gun at them or anyone else. The other person who died at the scene wasn't attacked or shot by the police, but rather died from a heart attack she suffered amid the chaos in the store. Blaming this man for being an innocent victim of someone elses' paranoid mind is unfair and disgusting. He had no fault, whatsoever throughout the incident.