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Miami police shoot, kill man carrying a toy gun

Wow, sounds like major fail by the Miami PD, but there aren't any details about the "...encounter between the man and officers..." but, the guy was pretty stupid for walking around the streets carrying anything that resembles a real rifle.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44353153...1#.Tl-cG46t0ZI

Quote:

Miami police shoot, kill man carrying a toy gun
Relatives of victim say he was mentally disabled; no one else injured in incident

updated 9/1/2011 6:35:25 AM ET

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A man carrying what was later determined to be a toy rifle was shot and killed by police, authorities in North Miami Beach said.

The incident began Wednesday afternoon when officers responded to calls about a man seen walking around with a rifle.

One emergency caller reported the man had pointed the rifle at a dog, NBC Miami reported.

An encounter between the man and officers ensued and shots were fired, North Miami Beach police spokesman Sgt. Warren Hardison said. The man was flown to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Members of his family said that the man was mentally disabled and never violent, according to the Miami Herald and WFOR-CBS 4. Family members told WFOR the victim was 56-year-old Ernest Vassell.

"They murdered him in cold blood for a toy gun!" the victim's sister, Claire Harding, told WFOR. "That’s no reason for you to kill somebody!"

No one else was injured in the shooting.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

I feel bad for the family, but you just can’t let someone point a gun at you. EVEN IF it later turns out to be fake, or the person pointing it ‘didn’t mean it’, you have to make the call based on what you know at the time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dethbob (Post 175210)

I wonder why the family let him on the streets with a toy gun when he was mental disabled.

Since the article doesn't go into more detail, I'm going to guess that he pointed the rifle at the police. Since they had no way of knowing it was a toy, they fired in self-defense. Can't blame them for that. If you don't want to get shot, don't point anything that resembles a gun at a policeman.