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Community Policing: Brandishing a 'toy gun' one dangerous game
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Anonymous user Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Toy guns have long been a fascination of young children as they play in their back yards, pretending to be in faraway places fighting evil villains. 
Most of the time, these escapades are harmless trips in a child’s imagination, but as technology and our society have progressed, so has the realness of the toys with which our children play. 
I remember as a little boy having a “pop” gun that made cool noises and was great to play with. I also remember that it was unmistakably a toy gun.
Today, this type of toy is getting harder to find, but very real-looking replica pistols or long guns have taken its place and are available at just about any toy store or specialty gun store. 
I challenge you to look through your child’s toy chest or closet and find the “toy guns” that you have purchased for them. How real looking are they? 
I make this point with one main thought in mind. Recently, officers of the Bakersfield Police Department have had to make split-second decisions, confronting both children and adults who have been in possession of very authentic-looking replica guns.
Whether during car stops or when responding to specific calls of subjects armed with guns, officers have been repeatedly faced with “deadly force scenarios” involving replica guns. BB guns, cap guns, Air Soft guns and simple toy guns have been seized during these incidents. 
Some of the confrontations have been with subjects who possessed these replica firearms with criminal intent and would likely use them in criminal acts. Others, though, have involved children who are naive to the consequences of brandishing a “toy gun” in public. 
Officers are tasked with confronting both types of incidents. We willingly accept the responsibility of taking on the armed criminals in our society as we strive to make our community a safer place.
It is the confrontation with a child in possession of a replica firearm that is every officer’s nightmare. Many of our officers are parents themselves.
It would be an unthinkable tragedy for our community, the officer and a child’s family if an officer was placed in a situation where he used deadly force in confronting what he believed to be an armed suspect — only to learn later the armed suspect he confronted was a child with a replica gun. 
Fortunately to this point, the actions of the subjects armed with these guns along with the officers’ training and restraint have helped avert tragedy.
But parents must be aware of the dangers created by replica guns in the hands of mischievous or naive children.
The law addresses imitation or replica firearms with several statutes. It defines an imitation firearm as any BB device, toy gun, replica of a firearm or other device that is so substantially similar in coloration and overall appearance to an existing firearm as to lead a reasonable person to perceive that the device is a firearm. 
It is an infraction to simply display or expose an imitation firearm in public. The fine is $100 for the first offense and $300 for the second offense. It is a misdemeanor to brandish an imitation firearm in public and punishable by a minimum of 30 days in the county jail. It is also a misdemeanor to remove any safety markings or colorations on an imitation firearm designed to designate it as a toy.
Parents, you are responsible for your children. We all know that children often make poor decisions as they grow up. It’s how they learn and mature. But from the hearts of all of the officers at the Bakersfield Police Department, please don’t provide your children with “toy guns” that could bring about a deadly confrontation with an innocent child.

E-mail Ryan at: Rpaslay@bakersfieldpd.us
Ryan Paslay is the Public Information Officer with the Bakersfield Police Departmen

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