Do they have a case?

[Terrylynn68]

Illinois-My Son and his friend were walking home from school last month and on the way home the friend found a TOY PLASTIC hand gun on the ground, he picked it up and proceeded to walk to our house with it. Passerby seen them, called police saying there were teenage boys with gun walking down road. She followed the boys home and reported to police what house they went into. I was at work, the only one's home were my 15 yr. old son, his 16 yr old friend, and my 7 yr. old daughter. The boys were out in the garage, my daughter in the house watching T.V. The police went through the alley and proceeded to "search" the boys and garage. They found the toy and proceeded to arrest the boys for possesion of alchohol because they were standing next to an UNOPENED WARM bottle of beer that had been in the garage for atleast a week. They also confiscated some catnip they found in one of the packed boxes in our garage and wrote them up for cannabis also! After they loaded the boys in the cars, they proceeded to go through my house, upstairs and downstairs and also put my 7 yr. old into another squad car and took all three kids to the station. We went to court yesterday, and because the boys will not accept guility for the possesion of the beer that was in the garage we now have to go to a bench trial. They are talking a $500 fine here! Do they really have a case? It is stated on the ticket that the were standing next to an unopened bottle of beer...

 

[davelu99]

Well, as for the gun, toy or not, if it is believed to be a real gun by a passerby, the law says that it is as if it was a real gun. As for the beer, it depends on the judge, but I'd bet your boys either aren't telling you something, or the police officer had good reason to believe that boys were in possession of it. A beer doesn't have to be open. The law says Minor in Possession of Alcohol, not Minor in Possession of an Open Alcoholic Beverage. As for the catnip, I doubt that'll go anywhere. And finally, as for searching the house, garage, etc., the police did have probable cause to believe that a crime occoured, so they then had a search incident to arrest - but their search powers are very limited in this type of situation. A Terry search is the only thing that would be allowed (Terry search is one that is very cursory, simply looking for dangerous items - not an indepth search at all). I would talk to the prosecutor on this one and see what they're thinking. Don't blame the police - they're responding to complaints. If this goes to trial, blame the prosecutor for having nothing better to do with his time but go after some kids. Let me know how it turns out!

 

[johnny2]

Hey the police here in NYC 2 years ago.. shot and kiled a 13 year old riding a bike who wouldnt stop and he had a "gun".

Turns out the "gun was a water pistol, and of course the cops were exonerated..why?

lets see a black kid on a black bike on a dark street at 1 Am on a school night.......pointing something at the police and refusing to stop...

 

[JETX]

Hey the police here in NYC 2 years ago.. shot and kiled a 13 year old riding a bike who wouldnt stop and he had a "gun".

Turns out the "gun was a water pistol, and of course the cops were exonerated..why?

lets see a black kid on a black bike on a dark street at 1 Am on a school night.......pointing something at the police and refusing to stop...

Nice one-sided 'spin' on this one, eh Johnny??
Lets look at the other side....
1) What is a 13 year old doing outside at 1am on a school night (or any other night)?? The police would certainly NOT assume his age. (I have seen some 13 year olds that look 25!! And they weren't running away in the dark!).
2) Why did this 'kid' refuse to stop when told? The police would certainly presume that he was (or had been) doing something wrong.
3) Why did this 'kid' have a gun (even a water pistol)?? Could it be because he wanted someone (maybe a victim) to think it was real... and that is exactly what the police did!!
4) Finally, why would ANYONE point ANYTHING at the police in that situation?? Maybe they have watched too much 'gansta rap' and Puff Daddy!!

Tell ya' what... bet your last dollar, if I were the officer in that same situation, I would have done what was needed to do so that I was the one going home to my family at the end of the shift and not the fleeing suspect with a gun!

 

[johnny2]

Oh i fogot to mention the 2 officers were white...but becuase of it being 1 am on a school night...

The Al Sharpton side kept pretty quiet on this one.

 

[bigdaddyCMP]

In response to Halket:

Do you think it was right that the police shot to kill instead of to stop a fleeing suspect?

They are supposed to be trained marksmen. They could have simply shot out the wheel on the bike or even hit the boy in the leg.

Then they would have been able to find out that the "gun" was not a gun at all but a toy.

And when was the last time you listened to P. Diddy?

He doesn't even rap about shooting people. And what could you possibly know about gangsta rap?

 

[JETX]

Another idiot post with no grasp of reality... we really need to get these kids off the internet!!

"Do you think it was right that the police shot to kill instead of to stop a fleeing suspect?"
Absolutely. Have you ever even considered the impossibility of 'shoot to wound' in a situation like this?? Obviously not!! And one thing that they teach in Police 101... when someone aims a gun at you, assume that they are not going to say "Bang".

"They are supposed to be trained marksmen. They could have simply shot out the wheel on the bike or even hit the boy in the leg."
More idiocy. All police are NOT 'trained marksman'. WOW, and you expect them to be able to shoot a tire on a bike, or a moving leg, in the dark, with a gun aimed at them!!! You really need to get away from that shoot'em up video game at the arcade!!

"Then they would have been able to find out that the "gun" was not a gun at all but a toy."
Gee, in this case, they did find out!!

"And when was the last time you listened to P. Diddy? He doesn't even rap about shooting people. And what could you possibly know about gangsta rap?"

Wrong again:
From 'Gansta ****': "When my gunshot peel, that's a one shot kill"
From 'Do you like it, do you want it: "Now picture me gritty, P. Diddy 'bout to run in your house, The gun's with me, put one in your mouth"
And from 'Pain': "Caught up on the run with a gun
Can't walk with it down then you can't conceal one"

As you can see... YOU are so full of it, you can't even get your facts straight!!

 

[HomeGuru]

To respond to the writer: yes, they have a case.
Your post was one-sided of course.
I wonder what the police report stated?
Boys with backpacks walking down the street pointing a gun around, yelling......

 

[bigdaddyCMP]

O.K. SO MAYBE I DON'T LISTEN TO P DIDDY THAT MUCH. BUT THE POLICE STILL SHOULD NOT HAVE SHOT TO KILL. AND YOU ARE STILL THE IDIOT. MAYBE HE WAS LISTNENING TO TOO MUCH HEAVY METAL ROCK AND ROLL

 

[JETX]

Lets see if I can get this down to YOUR level....
"Your mom wears combat boots!!"

 

[Terrylynn68]

one sided

To respond to the writer: yes, they have a case.
Your post was one-sided of course.
I wonder what the police report stated?
Boys with backpacks walking down the street pointing a gun around, yelling...... [/QUOTE

Not one-sided at all...I stated exactly what the POLICE told me. There was no yelling or waving a gun around. Quite simple they were walking and carrying it-a new found toy. We aren't talking about gang bangers here, we are talking about two kids, coming home from football practice, who have NEVER been in trouble with the law ever! They are not on drugs(i have tests to prove it), they are home by dark. Not every kid in america is a gun slinging looking for trouble gang banger. And for your info. my kid doesn't carry a back pack, are back packs a sign of "badness" now a days? Jeese, I just wanted to know if there was a case because two kids were in the garage tinkering on their bikes, and there happened to be a beer left in there by the male adult in the house from the previous weekend. My 7 year old daughter was in the house where the fridge was with atleast a 12 pack in it, did they miss their opportunity to arrest her also for possesion of alcohol too?

 

[Terrylynn68]

Well, as for the gun, toy or not, if it is believed to be a real gun by a passerby, the law says that it is as if it was a real gun. As for the beer, it depends on the judge, but I'd bet your boys either aren't telling you something, or the police officer had good reason to believe that boys were in possession of it. A beer doesn't have to be open. The law says Minor in Possession of Alcohol, not Minor in Possession of an Open Alcoholic Beverage. As for the catnip, I doubt that'll go anywhere. And finally, as for searching the house, garage, etc., the police did have probable cause to believe that a crime occoured, so they then had a search incident to arrest - but their search powers are very limited in this type of situation. A Terry search is the only thing that would be allowed (Terry search is one that is very cursory, simply looking for dangerous items - not an indepth search at all). I would talk to the prosecutor on this one and see what they're thinking. Don't blame the police - they're responding to complaints. If this goes to trial, blame the prosecutor for having nothing better to do with his time but go after some kids. Let me know how it turns out!

Thanks for the honest response. We go to trial in September.