Author Topic: NH - Police Draw Guns On Man Assembling Toy Weapon (Read 426 times)

FWiedner · « **on:** September 21, 2005, 06:06:55 AM »

Police Draw Guns On Man Assembling Toy Weapon

Police Say They Were Following Procedure

SALEM, N.H. -- An incident involving a toy gun turned into a real scare for a local family.

Sitting in a truck with his two children in a Salem, N.H., shopping plaza, a Dracut, Mass., father started putting the toy weapon together.

NewsCenter 5's Rhondella Richardson reported that the move gave some nearby police officers the wrong impression.

"This was absolutely ridiculous what happened. Somebody yelled out, 'Put your hands up!' And I had no idea what was going on. I am right there, I turn around and there is a police officer, maybe 8 feet over there with his handgun out at me, right at my face. Directly across from me, my boy is sitting right here," said Anthony Kulesza.

"They are trained not to fire, obviously, unless they see a threat," said Salem police Capt. Robert Larsen.

The incident happened at 6:20 p.m. Friday, after Kulesza bought the toy gun for his son at an Army Novelty Store. Someone in the parking lot saw Kulesza assembling the gun and called police.

"I felt like I was going to cry, I didn't know what was going to happen next," said AJ Kulesza, 10.

"I said, 'Its a toy gun!' and he says, 'Put your hands up!'" said Kulesza.

Kulesza said he was worried the police officers would shoot.

"Within a minute and 15 seconds, according to our tapes, (the officers) had called in to say it was a toy gun and they cleared the call shortly thereafter," said Larsen.

The family said it did not happen that quick.

"They searched me and they went over to the truck and they looked in the truck, and that is when they questioned my son and (the officer) took the rifle and threw it against the dashboard. That doesn't happen in five minutes," said Kulesza.

Larsen said the officers were just following procedure.

"I don't think we would do anything any differently at this point," Larsen said.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/4993838/detail.html

*FW Note:

For future reference...Government agents reserve the right to kill you if they don't like the toys you give to your children.

:roll:

Shorty · « **Reply #1 on:** September 22, 2005, 01:20:31 PM »

I don't know what there is for toy guns out there. I thought they all had to be obviously unreal, as with bright orange parts (?). But, if it was a full size replica of a Bushmaster I'd say there was cause for alarm and caution.

FWiedner · « **Reply #2 on:** September 22, 2005, 06:05:25 PM »

Quote from: Shorty

I don't know what there is for toy guns out there. I thought they all had to be obviously unreal, as with bright orange parts (?). But, if it was a full size replica of a Bushmaster I'd say there was cause for alarm and caution.

Why?

Because a grown man with a "gun" was minding his own business in public?

If he was threatening someone with it, or perhaps being unsafe with regard to firearms handling, that's one thing, but sitting in his vehicle with his kids?

If you're the nervous type, feel free to eyeball the guy.

I don't understand what makes anyone think that what this guy was doing was any of their business.

muzzleblast525 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 23, 2005, 03:42:14 AM »

In 25 years of police work, I've seen some very "realistic toy guns." We've a city ordinance that you can't be waving a toy gun around where it causes alarm. One guy was very lucky one day when he was driving down the highway pointing a "gun" at an undercover officer because he had long hair. Did he feel stress when a felony stop was conducted with 4 police cars? I'm sure, and the $500 fine probably didn't help.....

Don't get me wrong, I had toy guns when I was growing up, and I'm definitely not one who supports any type of gun control. Hell, I buy a gun, don't like it after a month or so and trade it off for something else. My brother in NJ has to get a frigging permit for his muzzleloader, where we can go here and buy one without completing any paperwork....Go figure.

But people need to use common sense in this day and time. I've seen officers, young ones, who want to put some woman in jail because she did not have a CHL, and the gun was in the glovebox. Me, hey, just don't be flashing it around and by the way, keep your insurance in your purse so you don't have to go digging around in the glovebox where you have a gun.

My :money: worth.....