re: No charges against cop that shot Tamir Rice

When I was a kid it was those chromed six-shooters that shot plastic/rubber pellets. There were instances even in the 70s and 80s that lead to children getting shot by police, hence the movement in the late 80s and early 90s to put an orange band around the mouth of the toy gun to signify that it was just a toy. Airsoft is really walking a dangerous line that will eventually force government regulation.

I understand the desire for people to make them as authentic looking as possible, but this kind of thing will happen more and more until these manufacturers realize the potential that these products are not going to be used in the sole purpose they were intended for. It ultimately comes down to parents teaching their kids to not do stupid shite and making it easier for law enforcement to identify these types of replicas. This is not a racial thing, as much as it fits into the recently popular "Uncle Leo murdering black model citizens" bandwagon.

The child was threatening violence in a public area with a very convincing means of harming the people in that public area. The police were obligated to respond and had to use their best judgment. It doesn't matter the age of the perpetrator. If the kid got a hold of a real weapon and the officer hesitated, mixed with the chance of the child firing the weapon and the possibility of a unfortunate shot could have resulted in a police officer or a bystander getting shot.