Thoughts of Andy Lopez – 13yr old boy shot by Sheriff

Right away this conversation will lead to arguments of “The Orange Tip, the Orange tip” which really doesn’t hold a lot of water as I’ll explain below. 2nd – contrary to what many here may believe I AM a staunch supporter of 2nd amendment rights an avid hunter, and a US Army VOLENTER Vietnam Vet. Although I believe the current perversion towards assault weapons is a threat to every American’s Second amendment Rights and have advocated as such for over 15 yrs

Yes the orange tip of the TOY had broken off as Andy Lopez’s sister explained to news reporters. It wasn’t intentionally to make the toy appear to be a weapon, and NO – Andy’s parents didn’t buy him a realistic looking toy weapon. It belonged to a friend and he was in the process of returning it when this terrible tragedy happened.

And No – my first impression of Eric Gelhaus isn’t a negative one and more importantly he was brought into the tragic scenario for the SAME reasons Andy Lopez was

Now we will have the calls to impose even more legislation to prevent toy manufactures from making such realistic weapons and kids wanting to play with them - Just try and stop them.

We as a country IDOLIZE our Rambos, our Terminators, our Military members engaged in lopsided conflicts occupying impoverished countries. TV, Movies, News Media, and the Gun Culture alike embellish Machine Guns, Assualt rifles, and Seal Team 6 taking out Osama Bin Laudin complete with a shot through the eyeball by a commando armed with the latest Hightech killing gear the US Military has to offer – all in real time complete with video.

What you expect Kids NOT to want to be what we as a country and parents actively idolize ??? Shit out here in California we even elected the Terminator as Governor.

So here we have Eric Gelhaus, who has bought into the same culture America’s perpetual recruitment of Bullet Stoppers for the Military Industrial Complex his whole life. Served in the Army National Guard, tours in Iraq, 24yr veteran of the Sheriffs Dept. and as directed by his Superior Officers in Iraq conducted Search and Destroy Missions (patrols) looking for Armed Insurgents with orders to engage on site.

He must have had a lot of adrenalin pumping that day he engaged Andy Lopez because he had to ignore several very alarming facts. It takes 2 hands to reposition the trigger finger from the “Stock” of an AK47 to the pistol grip, which btw is the only way Andy could been perceived as a threat. And 2nd the Supreme Court decision regarding Officer’s use of Deadly Force require the officer to FIRST identify themselves as Law Enforcement – as well as his request to drop the perceived weapon.

So was Eric Gelhaus in Iraq or America because that is the difference. Which leaves us with Eric Gelhaus’s superiors once again.

Due to California Law the Local Sheriff is in full control of the media. He decides what is released to the media and what is not and so far he has conducted a fairly extensive campaign to blame the victim. The Sheriffs Department has confiscated cell phone video of the event, and has refused to interview or acknowledge 1st hand witnesses to the event with contradictory testimony. First reports to the media said the FBI was conducting a separate investigation only to be later contradicted by reports they were merely assisting the Sheriffs Dept.

And some people wonder why the kids are protesting demanding Justice for Andy

It is a much larger problem that will continue until state laws are changed and America Defunds the Military Industrial Complex.

But there you have it – Call me a Libtard and Move On – Nothing to see here folks – just a 13yr old boy murdered for our country’s perpetual quest for military conflict

Jailhouse for Gelhaus - Cop who shot 13yr old

Geez - what's a Murderous POS to do

https://m.facebook.com/events/453673188077309/

Guy ain't gettin a break

Lopez attorney: Sheriff's office 'encourages' use of deadly force

Source: THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

As a large wooden shrine sprung up Friday in the southwest Santa Rosa lot where a sheriff's deputy killed Andy Lopez last week, an attorney for the teen's family outlined the framework of a federal civil rights lawsuit the family intends to file next week.

Arnoldo Casillas, the attorney representing the Lopez family, said the Oct. 22 shooting was unconstitutional because it violated the Fourth Amendment's limits on police authority.

The family will file a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco contending that Deputy Erick Gelhaus shot Lopez “without reasonable cause,” Casillas said in a statement. The shooting, he said, resulted from “an unconstitutional custom and practice” of the use of deadly force by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

The family made similar allegations in a tort claim filed Thursday with the county. In that claim, Casillas alleged the “sheriff's department's training encourages deputies to prematurely shoot suspects who pose no threat or danger to deputies or the public at large.”


Read more: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131101/articles/131109983

Huge rally held for Santa Rosa teen killed by deputy

Andy Lopez Family Files Claim vs. Sonoma County; Deputy "Emotional" After Shooting

Source: By Lisa Fernandez

Lawyers for the family of a 13-year-old Santa Rosa boy carrying a replica rifle and killed by a deputy when he said the teen wouldn’t put it down, have filed three claims against Sonoma County and plan to file a federal lawsuit in the wake of the boy’s death.

In the claims, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the firm of Moreno, Becerra and Casillas, based in Montebello, Calif., allege that the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office failed to develop proper policies and training for pedestrian stops, and that it negligently hired and continued to employ the deputies involved in the shooting.

The Sonoma County Counsel on Friday did not return a comment to NBC Bay Area seeking comment.

The claims, filed on behalf of Andy Lopez's parents, seek unspecified damages for loss of financial support, funeral and burial expenses, the value of household services the boy would have provided and for the loss of Lopez's “love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society and moral support.”


Read more: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Andy-Lopez-Family-Files-Claim-vs-Sonoma-County-Deputy-Emotional-After-Shooting-Report-230244931.html

Cop who shot 13 yr old Boy, Mentally Unstable trained himself to shoot for Less then Justified

Sonoma County Sheriffs Dept. who is in complete control of which information is released in this investigation (by Calif State Law) and what information is not, is trying to justify the Mentally Unstable Condition of the shooter who shot the unarmed 13 yr old boy for carrying a toy gun. Once again blaming the victim.

Just like you don’t always see the whole animal when hunting, you may not always see the whole weapon – or even a lot of it – in low light. Look for the parts.

http://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=2058

FBI reportedly scales back Lopez killing inquiry

Source: THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The FBI is not conducting a full, independent investigation into the death of a teenage boy who was shot by a sheriff’s deputy last week, but instead offering local police “support,” several local law enforcement leaders said this week.

The stance is an apparent reversal from the bureau’s notice last week, when its agents told command staff at the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and Santa Rosa Police Department that the agency would conduct its own investigation of the Oct. 22 shooting death of Andy Lopez, looking for potential violations of federal civil rights laws.

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing the Lopez family filed three claims for unspecified damages against Sonoma County on behalf of each of the boy’s parents, as well as Andy Lopez’s estate.

Arnoldo Casillas, an attorney with Moreno Becerra & Casillas, said the family will file a federal lawsuit today in San Francisco over the shooting and that it would hold a news conference Monday to discuss details of the suit.


Read more: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131031/articles/131039850

Andy Lopez Shooting - He could spot a weapon in low light but not a toy in daylight

The more I read about this guy the more I see a severely unstable guy who was looking .....

Low Light Training – Part 2 ....... BY Erick Gelhaus

Normally, during low-light training, we are on the firing line with several co-workers. Every one turns on their lights, illuminating a two dimensional target at the same distance. This turns your low-light shoot into darn near daylight. Then they shoot.

.... Just like you don’t always see the whole animal when hunting, you may not always see the whole weapon – or even a lot of it – in low light. Look for the parts.

Driver says Sonoma deputy pulled gun on him

Source: Henry K. Lee / San Francisco Chronicle

The Sonoma County sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy after mistaking his toy AK-47 for a real rifle pulled a gun on a motorist twice during a traffic stop on Highway 101 two months earlier, the driver said Thursday.

Jeff Westbrook of Santa Rosa said he was mistreated by Deputy Erick Gelhaus after being pulled over Aug. 21 in Cotati for failing to signal a lane change in his BMW. The interaction troubled Westbrook so much that he recalled asking Gelhaus at one point, "Sir, is there something wrong with you?"

"I felt like I was watching somebody I needed to help," said Westbrook, 57, a program manager at an information technology company. "This was not right. He did not manage this correctly."

Gelhaus is on routine paid leave after the Oct. 22 shooting of eighth-grader Andy Lopez Cruz, who was walking with a replica AK-47 pellet gun near his home just outside Santa Rosa. His attorney declined Thursday to comment on Westbrook's allegations.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Driver-says-Sonoma-deputy-pulled-gun-on-him-4944495.php

More Than 1,000 Attend Andy Lopez Protest Rally in Santa Rosa

Source: KQED News Staff and Wires



The Associated Press is reporting that more than 1,000 people marched at the rally this afternoon in Santa Rosa to protest the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez.

The protesters, including middle- and high-school-age students and members of the Occupy movement, assembled in downtown Santa Rosa before marching through streets with signs and hooded sweatshirts bearing photos of the boy.

"Andy Lopez did not have to die," they chanted during the nearly three-hour, mostly peaceful demonstration. No arrests were made.


Read more: http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2013/10/29/andy-lopez/