Parents ask why Texas police killed 8th-grade son carrying pellet gun

[Dave]

Did the police overreact to the situation? Hard to say. This is one of those cases where you almost have to see video of the event to know if the police reacted accordingly. In the heat of the moment, it can understandably be tough to know if the weapon in question is a real hand gun or just a pellet gun. From what I understand, the kid was told at least a few times to drop the gun and refused to do so, so the officers did what they believed to be the right thing. IF that is what happened, I don't think I could find fault with their actions... again though, I'd probably have to see video of the event to be sure.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- The parents of an eighth-grader who was fatally shot by police inside his South Texas school are demanding to know why officers took lethal action, but police said the boy was brandishing - and refused to drop - what appeared to be a handgun and that the officers acted correctly.

The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun that closely resembled the real thing, police said late Wednesday, several hours after 15-year-old Jaime Gonzalez was repeatedly shot in a hallway at Cummings Middle School in Brownsville. No one else was injured.

"Why was so much excess force used on a minor?" the boy's father, Jaime Gonzalez Sr., asked The Associated Press outside the family's home Wednesday night. "Three shots. Why not one that would bring him down?"

His mother, Noralva Gonzalez, showed off a photo on her phone of a beaming Jaime in his drum major uniform standing with his band instructors. Then she flipped through three close-up photos she took of bullet wounds in her son's body, including one in the back of his head.

"What happened was an injustice," she said angrily. "I know that my son wasn't perfect, but he was a great kid."

Interim Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez said the teen was pointing the weapon at officers and "had plenty of opportunities to lower the gun and listen to the officers' orders, and he didn't want to."

The chief said his officers had every right to do what they did to protect themselves and other students even though there weren't many others in the hallway at the time. Police said officers fired three shots.

Shortly before the confrontation, Jaime had walked into a classroom and punched a boy in the nose for no apparent reason, Rodriguez said. Police did not know why he pulled out the weapon, but "we think it looks like this was a way to bring attention to himself," Rodriguez said.

About 20 minutes elapsed between police receiving a call about an armed student and shots being fired, according to police and student accounts. Authorities declined to share what the boy said before he was shot.

The shooting happened during first period at the school in Brownsville, a city at Texas' southern tip just across the Mexican border. Teachers locked classroom doors and turned off lights, and some frightened students dove under their desks. They could hear police charge down the hallway and shout for Gonzalez to drop the weapon, followed by several shots.

Two officers fired three shots, hitting Gonzalez at least twice, police said.

David A. Dusenbury, a retired deputy police chief in Long Beach, Calif., who now consults on police tactics, said the officers were probably justified.

If the boy were raising the gun as if to fire at someone, "then it's unfortunate, but the officer certainly would have the right under the law to use deadly force."

A recording of police radio traffic posted on KGBT-TV's website indicates that officers responding to the school believed the teen had a handgun. An officer is heard describing the teen's clothes and appearance, saying he's "holding a handgun, black in color." The officer also said that from the front door, he could see the boy in the school's main office.

Less than two minutes later, someone yells over the radio "shots fired" and emergency crews are asked to respond. About two minutes later, someone asks where the boy was shot, prompting responses that he was shot in the chest and "from the back of the head."

Administrators said the school would be closed today but students would be able to attend classes at a new elementary school that isn't being used.

Superintendent Carl Montoya remembered Gonzalez as "a very positive young man."

"He did music. He worked well with everybody. Just something unfortunately happened today that caused his behavior to go the way it went. So I don't know," he said Wednesday.

Gonzalez Sr. said he had no idea where his son got the gun or why he brought it to school, adding: "We wouldn't give him a gift like that."

He said he last saw his son around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, when the boy said goodbye before leaving to catch the bus to school. And he said nothing seemed amiss the night before when he, his wife and their son went out for nachos then went home and watched a movie.

Gonzalez Sr. was struggling to reconcile the day's events, saying his son seemed to be doing better in school and was always helpful around the neighborhood mowing neighbors' lawns, washing dogs and carrying his toolbox off to fix other kids' bikes.

Two dozen of his son's friends and classmates gathered in the dark street outside the family's home Wednesday night. Jaime's best friend, 16-year-old Star Rodriguez, said her favorite memory was when Jaime came to her party Dec. 29 and they danced and sang together.

"He was like a brother to me," she said.

Associated Press writers Diana Heidgerd and Danny Robbins in Dallas, and Mike Graczyk in Houston contributed to this story.

[Willy]

Now this is an incident of police going above and beyond.

 

[AQUAMAN]

Excellent video Willy. Besides the 5 alternatives over shooting I gave earlier, that of psychology, (I wish Masonco would comment there), tear gas, pepper spray, taser, shoot to wound, not kill, we could also add the gun that fires bean bags at a high velocity to disable suspects. If the police are going to have all these arsenals paid for by us, why can't they think to use them in these circumstances? And to those that still support Police in this matter, just ask yourselves again, do two wrongs make a right?

[Lisa O'Brien]

I'm still supporting the police. 

[XLFD]

As I'm sure the investigators of this case are prone to! 

I still strongly support the truth, and justice.  And if the truth is that the police acted contrary to protocol in causing the death of this kid, their needs to be justice for those affected by it.

[Lisa O'Brien]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/911-tape-shows-officers-te...

here's a link to the 911 call. I'm still supporting the police.

[XLFD]

I listened to it, and the only conclusive thing was that the police did call on him to repeatedly but the gun down, but the call ended before the climax of the standoff. 

It's interesting, Lisa, when you start sounding like a diehard conservative and Aquaman and I start taking the roll we often assign to you.  I hope for everyone concerned, that the police did the right thing, but I don't see that as conclusive at this point with what's come out.

[Lisa O'Brien]

X - take that back, I am not a die hard conservative. Doesn't ning have rules regarding libel. lol......

[XLFD]

I meant it as a compliment...  Remember if you are trying to be a conservative woman you have to have thicker skin, LOL. 

I treasure you as one of our truly independent thinkers, willing to value common sense over orthodoxy. 

[Willy]

Thanks for posting that link Lisa. Like I said in my first post, the kid was looking for trouble. He knew what he was doing and what the result was going to be. According to the recording, the Assistant Principal said several times that the student "drew the weapon" and that was after he saw the police. It sure is odd how folks have trouble putting the blame on the person who causes a situation. I think this ordeal will  be classified as assisted suicide.

[AQUAMAN]

Lisa, that darn 911 phone call recording didn't prove anything. Except that someone hired to be a mature leader and Assistant Principal went hysterical and acted like a little kid in distress, uncontrolled, immature, and plain disgusting to me. Repeating over and over in garbled manner what a third party was telling her while she hid in a closet or under her desk. Furthermore, two wrongs still don't make a right.

[Lisa O'Brien]

Aquaman, I'm still not changing my opinion - still supporting the police. But I will offer a little defense to the caller. First I doubt when she made her career choice she thought it would involve armed students, also as far as I know the layout of the phone system hasn't been published - maybe from where she was at she didn't have line of sight to the armed student and had to rely on a third party to be the eye's while she kept in contact with the police. As far as the garbled manner, maybe the phone system the school system uses is VOIP and unfortunately garbled is what happens with VOIP. 

[XLFD]

The latest news on this is that the two officers who did the shooting have been named, and it was disclosed that one had a prior domestic violence charge, that he was exonerated from.  But the BPD is withholding the release of the official police report to the press because a minor was involved, and they have a right as per Texas law to do so.  I don't think they are protecting a minor here; he is dead after all. 

Always be suspicious when a public agency is not releasing information and citing legal technicalities for not doing so.