I don’t know what one would expect to happen when, after running away from police down an alley you turn around, reach into your waist band and pull out a BB gun and point it at the officers. In the case of Tyree King, the answer was revealed as he was shot and killed.
Officers were responding to a call of an armed robbery perpetrated by three suspects. When they arrived in the area they saw King and two others who matched the description. When the police approached the trio, two of them, King and another fled.
Officers followed suit and tried to take the 2 into custody. That is when King pulled out his bb gun and pointed it at the officers. 9 year police veteran Bryan Mason, fearing for his life, shot King in the chest.
Mason is white and King is black so no doubt the race card will be dealt in and the quasi terrorist organization Black Lives Matter will get another 15 minutes but I want you to look at the picture below quickly…and then tell me:
In the night in a dark alley, could you tell the difference between a bb gun and a real one?
This is a closer look at the bb gun, available at Walmart:
If I didn’t tell you that it was a bb gun, how many would have realized it?
Columbus police chief Police Chief Kim Jacobs echoed this sentiment:
“Our officers carry a gun that looks practically identical to this weapon. As you can see, it looks like a firearm that could kill you.”
Of course, never one to let a tragedy go unexploited to push their agenda, Democrat and gun hating Mayor Andrew Ginther tried to pin this shooting on America’s “obsession with guns”. At a news conference Ginther had this to say:
“There is something wrong in this country, and it is bringing its epidemic to our city streets and a 13-year-old is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns and violence.”
There IS something wrong with this country all right. But it has nothing to do with our firm belief and enumerated right to keep and bear arms. What is wrong is that instead of pointing the finger at what REALLY is wrong, slime like Mayor Ginther hijack every opportunity to try and push their anti American agenda. The problem is that a 13 year old thought it was a good idea to use a bb gun to rob people and then to point it at a cop.
The problem is that political correctness will try and hang Officer Mason out to dry while painting King as some sweet innocent kid who didn’t deserve to die. One such PC group, People’s Justice Project all ready released a statement saying that the incident “raises many questions” about police training and behavior.
I’m just going to harp on the PJP for a second because their statement is so full of fail and written by some really ignorant people that it needs to be highlighted.
For instance (excerpt from the PJP statement):
Tyre’s death raises many questions. Even if his toy gun had been real, Ohio is an open carry state. What training was provided for police who knew they would be encountering people with guns after open carry legislation passed? Are the police opening fire on every person they encounter with a gun?
Where do I begin…how about the fact that to legally open carry a real firearm in Ohio a person must be at least 18 years old.
Tyre King was NOT open carrying, he was carrying the gun in his waistband, hidden from officers until he pulled it out and pointed it at them.
This was NOT a case of police gunning down an innocent open carrier, but rather defending themselves when at 7:40 at night, a suspect in an armed robbery pulled from his waistband an object for all intents and purposes looked like a real gun that could kill them.
Their statement continues to play the race card and paint King as some innocent kid who was unjustly shot by overly aggressive police.
If you have been reading Bullets First for a while you know that I give no free passes to cops and hold them accountable for going off half cocked and killing innocent people
Rookie Cop Shoots Innocent Unarmed Man In the Dark – No Accident
and being terrible shots
Cops Shoot 9 Innocent Bystanders at Empire State Building
or assassinating a puppy just because they can (i warn you, this ones a little tough to watch)
Out of Control Police Execute Innocent PUPPY That Was Walking Away From Them
But in the same turn I’m not going to railroad a cop just because he happens to be one color and the criminals another. Or if those criminals happen to be young.
When Shooting at a Minivan Full of Kids is Justified
At the end of the day, Tyre King had a gun that no one could tell at a glance was fake shoved into his waistband and pulled it out and pointed it at a police officer. If there is anything to take out of this is that Officer Mason responded in a controlled and measured manner. I know this because 1) he didn’t miss and 2) the other guy King ran with down the alley wasn’t hurt.
This wasn’t a case of a white cop killing black kids for kicks. It was a case of an officer justifiably shooting a suspect who pulled a gun on him in an alleyway.
It’s a mistake that Tyre King can’t learn from…but hopefully others who might do something as stupid in the future might.
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