Brickbat: Not Playing Around

Woods Cross, Utah, Police Chief Chad Soffe is defending an officer who pulled a gun on a 10-year-old boy playing in his grandmother's yard. Soffe says the officer was one of several chasing suspects in a reported shooting and mistook the boy for one of the suspects. He says despite that mistake the officer handled the situation well, but he has asked the district attorney to look into the matter.

Comments

[Jerryskids]

A ten-year old playing outside unsupervised? Why weren't the parents arrested? Do you have any idea of the dangers that lurk in the outdoors? Bears, wolves, rattlesnakes, cops.....

[Inigo Montoya]

Wasn’t there an infamous gangster in the 1920s named Baby-Face Nelson? The kid could have been a modern day version of him: an adult criminal with a childlike appearance.

[Necron 99]

Who said that? What ignorant, low down, slanderizin, son of a bitch said that? My name is George Nelson, get me? George Nelson! Not "Babyface"! You remember, and you tell your friends! I'm George Nelson! Born to raise hell!

[Conchfritters]

Jesus saves, George Nelson withdraws!

[markm23]

"George Nelson" is just another alias. You're Lester Joseph Gillis, you lying, murdering, SOB!
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Wikipedia has a few pictures of Nelson. He was small and looked younger than his age, but when he began robbing banks at about 20, there's no way he could have been mistaken for a 10 year old.

Now, the first time he shot someone he was 7 and most likely looked his age...

[Fist of Etiquette]

The officer told DJ to put his hands in the air and get on the ground and told him not to ask questions.

10 years old.

And I'm not sure why Chief Chad is asking for an investigation. He apparently already has enough evidence to support his officer's actions.

[geo1113]

Maybe the kid is the next Shaquille.

[Fist of Etiquette]

4'9", I believe, and apparently mentally challenged. I admit his face looks like he could be seen as slightly older, I suppose. Witnesses (in addition to the family there) claim that the cop pointed his gun at the kid's head. The police report was written up otherwise. He failed to activate his camera.

And in another write-up the chief stressed that it was a review, not an investigation. So, there's that.

[Quo Usque Tandem]

Chief Chad. Seriously. He should be counting ballots.

If he were a hang'n sheriff we could call him Hang'n Chad.

[MatthewSlyfield]

He'd have to move to Florida for that.

[Roger the Shrubber]

Remember the Boston Bomber lockdown? When there's a fugitive on the loose, we're all suspects and any infringement of your liberty is justified.

[SQRLSY One]

Not just Utah, but also Wyoming, Arizona, and Colorado should ALL have been put in lockdown mode, just to keep them all safe!

[SIV]

Christopher Dorner

[Minadin]

Those truck misidentifications were fun. Wrong makes, wrong models, wrong years, wrong colors, wrong occupant types (2 Latina women, 1 white male, suspect was a black male). More than 100 bullets fired, one truck rammed by a police SUV. Oh, but:

"LAPD chief Charlie Beck announced that eight officers had violated the LAPD's use-of-force policy and would be disciplined. Beck noted that California state law prevents him from disclosing the nature of the discipline publicly, but that discipline could range "from extensive retraining up to termination." Disciplinary actions for the officers involved did not include criminal charges."

[croaker]

Yeah, we found out just how "voluntary" the shelter in place order was. Unless you worked at Dunkin Donuts, you got proned out if you stepped out of your house.

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[Brandybuck]

If the kid didn't want a gun pulled on him, he shouldn't have been [fill in excuse here].

Options: Person of color; colored person; swarthy; in a crime ridden neighborhood; looking suspicious; outdoors; a human being.

[MelvinUpton]

Outdoors!

[Velvet Thunder]

Heaton and Bragg predicted this! Heaton: "Why did police take a 3 year old into custody?" Bragg: "Was he unarmed and black?"

[Robert]

I love the recontextualizing of that stock photo, wish all the bloggers here would do that.

[crufus]

At least the child didn't make any suspicious moves, like picking his nose, that could have got him shot.