Andy Lopez: Looking at it from the inside out:
you may want to read: http://nation.time.com/2013/10/25/toy-guns-deadly-consequences/
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131022/articles/131029886
Every once in a while I am awoken by the racism that lures around our community, our states, our countries, and our world. On October 22nd a thirteen year old boy was shot 7 times for carrying a toy gun that seem to look like a real and threatening gun.http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131022/articles/131029886
I read in the newspaper that Andy Lopez (the boy killed) was asked by the police to put the gun down, and instead of lowering the fake arm, lifted it and pointed at the police. Then is when the police fired.
This article: http://nation.time.com/2013/10/25/toy-guns-deadly-consequences/ and the news did not mention any of this happening. All they offered was the basic information. A boy with a fake rifle that got shot 7 times.
What is the media hiding from us? You see it really fires me up when the media decides to leave out information or hide information from the public. I want to look at all of the situation not just what the media wants me to see.
Why 7 times? Why did Andy get fired at 7 times? Was 1 shot not enough? Why fire in the first place?
If the newspaper story was true about the boy lifting his rifle up when told to put it down then I understand the police's motives to shoot, but why 7 times? Wouldn't one be enough?
What if Andy raised his fake fire arm as an act of impulse or fear?
The police could have tried to talk to the boy before firing at him.
I can go on about the possible alternative ways in which the police could have dealt with this situation, but my question still remains; WHY 7 TIMES?
The other way to look at it is... Why was Andy carrying the toy rifle in the beginning? Why did he walk away when the police called him? Shouldn't he have known that people could mistake the toy gun for a real one?
All of this can be argued, but that is not the main point.
7. bullets. fired. Was it an act of racism? Could it be considered injust?
It sickens me to my stomach to think that a man can fire 7 bullets into somebody else. One is enough to injure or even kill a person. 7 bullets is a ridiculous amount. As a hispanic I could easily say that he was shot at because he was of latino/hispanic descent, but I refuse to go that route, because apart from being that he was a human being. One shot is enough to stop a human being from moving to quickly or escaping anywhere. Yes, his ethnicity certainly adds fuel to the fire, but we should take into consideration that 7 shots is 6 too many shots or maybe even 7 too many shots. A life did not have to be lost.
bullet 1. and he was probably down or even dead
bullet 2. definitely dead
bullet 3. still dead
bullet 4. still dead
bullet 5. still dead
bullet 6. still dead
bullet 7. still dead
WHY 7?
Erica! I enjoyed reading this post as it provided a different perspective other than my own. I also enjoy the fact that you do bring two different perspectives into your post. But, being the guy I am, I'm going to have to disagree with a couple points you made. The police had no way of telling that the kid was a Mexican. The gun also looked extremely life-like and realistic. You have to understand, with the spree of recent shootings, some of which have been committed by teenagers, the police were justifiably alarmed. Let's just say the gun was real and he was an active shooter. Would it be reasonable for the police to wait for him to turn around to confirm if it was a real gun? That would have put both the officers' and innocent bystanders' lives in danger. Now, that doesn't excuse the fact that a young kind is dead, but it is in part due to his own recklessness.
ReplyDeleteTouching on the fact that he was shot seven times. It is actually not uncommon for police to fire multiple shots at a suspect. They are trained to shoot at the center of mass to guarantee a hit. They are, unfortunately, trained to shoot until the suspect drops. But you also have to realize that often times, adrenaline is pumping through their veins. They do not pay much attention to the shots they fired and have no way to gauge the shots that hit, unlike like in a video game.
Good points Javi. I enjoy looking at every side of the situation. I agree that the fact that Andy was carrying a fake fire arm that looked extremely real put him in danger in the first place. I mentioned that above. Seven times is a ridiculous amount of times. I do understand why a person that can not control their own adrenaline is put to shoot so many rounds of bullets. Where do we draw the line between sane and insanity. You have made some great points, but does that make the case just? Does it make it okay for a human being to be shot 7 times?
DeleteThank you Javier, very well written and factual.
ReplyDelete