Autistic Man With Toy Gun Shot, Killed by Police in Fla.
Police officers responded to 911 calls about a man seen walking around the neighborhood Wednesday afternoon with a rifle, North Miami Beach Police Director Thomas Carney said. Officers gave commands for the man to drop the weapon, but he refused and pointed it at an officer, Carney said.
The man identified as Ernest Vassell, 57, was carrying a realistic toy that could be confused with a rifle or shotgun, police said.
"It's very tragic," Carney said. "People don't understand that police officers are going to treat you like that's a real gun until we determine differently. They're not going to take any chances."
The victim's sister said Vassell was autistic and had mental challenges.
"Ernest did not deserve to die like this. Everyone is still in shock and disbelief," Marva Vassell-Gordon said.
His neighbors said it was obvious that Ernest Vassell had a disability, and police should have known.
"It's so strange to me that I can see it, and then, the police didn't see it. Or they didn't look for it," said Conroy Anderson, a family friend.
Police were not immediately releasing further information on the shooting pending an investigation. ( Of course not, they're trying to find ways to spin this and make it seem like it wasn't their fault)
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- Police Brutality, Crooked Cops, Cowards, corrupt cops, 2 more
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sugarlilly
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they have guns with rubber bullets, sticky stuff that freezes you, tazing guns, there are options in other, less violent, yet still developed nations, that their cops utilize. why aren't American cops trained to disarm less violently. this is atrocious. don't forget our taxes pay this wonderful branch of governments salaries. yayayyy violence & pain, YAYAYY AMMERICAHH!
- 9 months ago
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sugarlilly
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FreetobeyoUandme7
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Terrible!
- 9 months ago
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FreetobeyoUandme7
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Varex_Sythe
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If it was a realistic looking toy gun, then I can't really blame the police officers unless someone told them ahead of time that the gun the guy had was a toy.
As far as it being obvious that Vassell had a disability, mental disabilities can look like a person is strung out on drugs and even if the police were aware that Vassell was mentally disabled they are going to shoot him if they think the gun he is pointing at them is real.
If nothing is being covered up by either side in this story and the story as represented in this article is accurate, then this is a tragedy, but it really is not the fault of the officers.
The best way to prevent these specific kinds of events, make toy guns that are very obviously toy guns. They need to be a slightly funky shape and be very colorful to say the least. If you have a toy gun that looks like a 9mm Beretta in every way shape or form except that it has a little orange ring around the end of the "barrel," then it is not unreasonable to think that someone will mistake it for a real gun.
- 9 months ago
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Varex_Sythe
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sugarlilly
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Varex_Sythe:
the best way to prevent these type of specific events, although technicolored toy guns sound rad, is to lower the violent reactivity of the police. like HELLO, why was an autistic man out in public with a toy gun at all? it's weird enough on its own but then why didn't the police merely talk to him? ayi yi yi
- 9 months ago
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sugarlilly
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Varex_Sythe
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sugarlilly:
The problem there is that police are trained to assess a gun as a deadly weapon, they are trained to shoot to kill someone with a deadly weapon not just for their own sake, but for the sake of the public which they serve. As for why the police didn't merely talk to him, he pointed what looked like a real gun at police officers. If the situation is not self explanatory then let us take a look at what would have happened if the guy really was strung out on drugs and the gun was not a realistic looking toy. Had the police not shot the man in that situation then they could have been going home in body bags themselves, or worse yet, the guy in this hypothetical could point the gun at some random person and pull the trigger. The cops don't know for certain, but if what they perceive to be a gun is pointed at them from an individual who does not appear normal and/or stable, they shoot to protect themselves and the community that they are serving.
- 9 months ago
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Varex_Sythe
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sugarlilly
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Varex_Sythe:
the only correction i would though on this is that the police have a long history of protecting the wealthy & their assets. i wouldn't call it "service" or "serving" in any traditional sense of the word. they're all simply, deadly security men. i've had opportunities to talk to many one on one, off duty & on. they're very well paid & socially protected, armed security men.
- 9 months ago
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sugarlilly
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KSirys
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WHAT BULLSHIT!!! THE COWARD POLICE AT IT'S FINEST!
- 9 months ago
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KSirys
