[Madcap_Magician]

I read those comments and am not seeing what Ruger480 is talking about. Most of the comments appear to be of the "Gosh, that was an avoidable tragedy, why'd that kid's parents let him wander around in public with a pellet gun that looks exactly like a Kalashnikov?"

If by "prevailing attitude among LEOs" he means the general concurrence in the comments that "We should shoot people who point replica rifles at us," I am not sure why that's unreasonable.

Whether or not Lopez was pointing, in the process of pointing, or making a motion that one could reasonably believe was consistent with pointing the pellet gun at Gelhaus is a question of fact, not a question of opinion.

Personally I can think of at least one scenario where both Lopez's family and Gelhaus are both correct, but which still would have resulted in Lopez's being shot.

Suppose the following:

Lopez is walking down the street carrying his pellet gun, minding his own business.

Gelhaus sees Lopez, reports to his dispatcher that he is investigating a suspicious person, squawks his siren, and is stepping out of his car when Lopez, unaware of his surroundings and surprised by the sudden noise, turns toward Gelhaus's squad car, pellet gun in hand.

Gelhaus sees the muzzle of Lopez's pellet gun swinging toward him, believes he is about to come under fire, and shoots Lopez. His trainee does not fire, either because he does not see the threat or because he is still seated in the car and cannot draw as rapidly as Gelhaus, who has already exited the vehicle. By the time the trainee is out of the car, Lopez is already down on the ground, having been shot eight times.

I think when things like this happen, a lot of people seem unable to recognize that sometimes Tragic Things Happen despite a lack of nefarious intent by anyone involved. The need to Blame Someone so overwhelms rational thought that we conclude Someone Must Pay before having all the facts before us.