Boy, 9, Arrested For Having Toy Gun
…The boy’s mother, Tamyka Saunders said her son told police the gun was a toy. An officer aimed his gun at the boy’s head, ordered him to the ground, handcuffed him and arrested him on a charge of juvenile delinquency by reason of inducing panic, according to the police report.
Saunders was charged with obstructing official business and resisting arrest after she pleaded with police not to arrest her son and instead give him a warning, according to the report…
“Toy guns don’t kill people! People with real guns…” ah… no wait… “People should have the right to carry toy guns!” ummm… hang on a sec… “It is the cheaply made and easily found toy guns on the streets” oooops… nope… er, “K-ame-apart and Wall-to-Wallmart should stop selling toy guns to,” oh… ummmm… “Large department stores should stop selling the amunition for toy guns” Crap! that won’t work either…
Gimmie a second, I’ll find the rationale that will explain pointing a real gun at the head of a 9 year old boy who is playing with a toy one. I’ll get back to you on this one. Anyway, good thing he didn’t have one of those new toy “Assault” guns that shoots the “Cop Killer” foam rubber darts, that would have gotten him and his mother shot. I guess it really could have been worse, he could have been playing with a box cutter.
(Full text of the AP story here for posterity. I’m tired of linking these things and watching the links die a year later)
Boy, 9, Arrested For Having Toy Gun
Officer Aims Gun At Boy’s Head
POSTED: 10:24 a.m. EST October 29, 2003
LORAIN, Ohio — Police arrested a 9-year-old boy at gunpoint after he waved a plastic toy gun over his head while sitting on a city bench.
A passer-by who saw Thomas Clark Jr. playing with the toy Saturday called police and said a male was waving a pistol, police spokesman Lt. Robert Poli said Tuesday. Police arrived and found the boy waving a “very, very real-looking” gun, Poli said.
The boy’s mother, Tamyka Saunders, 28, of Sheffield Lake, said her son told police the gun was a toy.
An officer aimed his gun at the boy’s head, ordered him to the ground, handcuffed him and arrested him on a charge of juvenile delinquency by reason of inducing panic, according to the police report.
Saunders was charged with obstructing official business and resisting arrest after she pleaded with police not to arrest her son and instead give him a warning, according to the report.
“He doesn’t deserve this. He is not a bad kid at all. That’s what I was trying to explain to the officer. It’s just not fair,” said Saunders, who was getting her hair done at a nearby beauty salon when the incident happened just before noon on Saturday.
Police said the situation was handled properly.
“Up until that point, especially lately, we’ve seen too many youths with guns going into schools, playing with guns and accidentally shooting their friends,” Poli said. “You know, we don’t know if this is real or fake.”
Saunders is free on $750 bond and is scheduled to appear in Lorain Municipal Court on Tuesday. The report of Clark’s arrest was forwarded to the juvenile court system, Poli said. The county prosecutor’s office had not received the report as of Tuesday, said spokesman Mark Hastings.
Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.