AP: Boy shot by police at school dies

[HeeBGBz]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/14/teen.shot/index.html

A teenager who was shot by police while brandishing a pellet gun in his middle school has died of his injuries, The Associated Press reports. Fifteen-year-old Christopher Penley, of Winter Springs, Florida, reportedly pulled the pellet gun in a classroom Friday. He was shot by a SWAT team member when he raised the gun, authorities said.

[xchrom]

1. sad.

[Tiggeroshii]

2. wow

:cry:

[Donkeykick]

3. And then you have...

people on the right that believe that school officials (teachers, principals) should carry guns in schools.

Can you imagine the pell-mell that would start, if someone did come into that school, with a gun, wishing to do harm? :wtf:

[Retired AF Dem]

4. God forbid

we wouldn't want to inhibit anyone entering a school wishing to do harm.

[Redstone]

5. So, instead we should have the OK corral?

No fucking way in the world I'd send my kids to a school with armed fucking teachers. What a stupid idea.

Redstone

[Retired AF Dem]

7. I don't really know what in the hell

you are trying to say. My guess is it is ok for someone to come into a school and shoot kids, but god forbid if anybody shoots back. Is this correct?

[Donkeykick]

8. What happens...

if everyone starts shooting? Numerous people die?

[Redstone]

19. Oh, yeah, that'll work. Sure would keep little Johnny from talking

out of turn in the classroom, wouldn't it? Teacher's a little tense or crabby one day? POW! That'll teach the little fucker to act up, won't it?

And don't put fucking words into my mouth. WHERE did I say it was "ok for someone to come into a school and shoot kids?"

Teachers with guns. Maybe the dumbest thing I've ever heard on DU, and I still am in shock at seeing it here.

Redstone

[hopeisaplace]

49. if someone tried to steal my purse when I was "on", well

I could probably do a Jackie Chan on them too...

Arming Teachers, is about the dumbest thing I've EVER read in my life.

I hate guns and will forever hate guns. They only kill.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

24. What do you suppose would happen if an armed teacher shoots a kid....

...inside the school because he or she THOUGHT the kid had a weapon?

Do you really think arming teachers is a good idea?

[0007]

42. Redtone was perfectly clear to me!

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

86. how about - NOBODY HAS ANY FUCKING GUNS AT SCHOOL?

I can't see why that's a hard concept to grasp. But then again...

[Trajan]

10. is it just 'wishing' to do harm that matters ? ....

Say for instance: someone entered the school and declared that they wished to harm someone at the school .... yet they had NO observable weapon: would that be enough to shoot ? ... just 'wishing' ?

It is tragic that this TEENAGER .. a mere child ... chose to bring THAT TOY to school, and declare a desire to harm someone ....

It is equally tragic that an officer of the peace felt the need to fire his service weapon at a mere child, because that child lifted what 'appeared' to be a REAL weapon to them, NOT the actual TOY weapon that he actually toted ....

BOTH lives are now snuffed out: ... trust me: that SWAT officer will never be the same, nor will his family recognize him over the years as he sinks under the weight of guilt for killing a little boy with a toy gun .....

Tragic, indeed ..... yet was it the mere wish to do harm ? .... or a tragic mistake ?

These arguments from the RIGHT about having everyone everywhere carry weapons so we can be 'safe' is simply nuts .... Somalia has absolute gun freedom ... Afghanistan has absolute gun freedom : it is anarchic bedlam in the streets in those lands ... NOT 'Lawfulness' .... The argument is bullshit ....

[Redstone]

13. Everybody has guns in Yemen and Iraq, too.

Nice, peaceful places, the both of them, in addition to the places in your list.

People who think TEACHERS should be armed are fucking lunatics.

Redstone

[tn-guy]

72. I guess this puts me on the right then......

When my children were still in school there were a few occasions where a disturbed student made threats about staging a Columbine-style attack. You can imagine how those reports made a parent feel.

One of their teachers was a former Marine and former police officer. Frankly, I would have felt reassured if he were armed and known to be so, especially if all the students knew it. I think that his presence would serve as a great deterrent for those students who were rational actors. In case of violence by a non-rational student he would have been able to react much more quickly than the police.

If it comes down to choices, I'd rather have a trained, responsible, skilled, armed teacher able to react to a school shooting NOW than have to rely on what happens when the police show up 10-15 minutes later. The difference could well be a live, scared child or a dead one. If that puts me "on the right", so be it.

[Redstone]

73. It may not put you "on the right," but it does put you

among the seriously disturbed.

You really "would have felt reassured if he were armed and known to be so?"

How nice. Hey, what a great way to get kids to listen to a teacher: Make them afraid he'll fucking SHOOT them if they don't.

Hey, can anybody tell me where America went? It was here just a while ago, but now it's gone.

Redstone

[tn-guy]

76. OK, then I'm disturbed

Actually the teacher in question was a great teacher. He had no problem getting students to pay attention at all. Both my kids liked and respected him as did pretty much every kid except those few who don't like anyone.

But, then I guess you have a better insight into the dynamics of his classroom than I do, after all I've only known him for 8-10 years, volunteered in his classroom and sat with him and talked during school sports events. You've read one post about him and instantly understand how he would handle himself in a classroom were he to be armed. (/sarcasm)

Later on, the school system started having SRO's (school resource officers) present in each middle and high school. Did the students wander the halls then afraid that they would SHOOT them? I'm sure you've got an equally good insight into that dynamic. What about SRO's? 1) Should they be there or not? 2) If yes, please explain the difference between an armed SRO and an armed former policeman? 3) If it is just the badge, please explain how taking the badge off makes one's judgment and training suddenly disappear.

[Redstone]

78. Having armed teachers is stupid. Period.

This one's black and white. No middle ground.

And your argument about SROs is disingenuous. They're cops. Not teachers.

Giving teachers guns is a seriously sick idea. I'd move a LONG way away before I'd allow my kids to go to a school with teachers who were armed.

But hey, maybe we ought to do it in steps, maybe restore the bullwhips to the teachers before we deck them out with guns? That'll teach the little bastids to pay attention, won't it?

I am SO disappointed to find such medieval thinking on DU. Ihad thought we were smarter than that.

Redstone

[yasmina27]

90. The day they give me a gun for my classroom

is the day I walk out of my 20 year career.

[neonplaque]

6. assisted suicide

I bet the right-wing conservative sites are fuming over this tragedy!!

/snark

[wakeme2008]

9. boy is not dead

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-School-Evacuated-KILL.html

anuary 14, 2006
AP Kills Boy Shot by Police Story
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:53 p.m. ET

LONGWOOD, Fla. -- Kill AP-School-Evacuated: V6354, V6359, V6365, V6388, V6446, V6498, V6572. The 15-year-old boy shot by police while brandishing a pellet gun is not dead. An attorney for the family said Saturday the boy was brain dead and remains on life support while his organs are harvested.

Make sure these versions are killed from your systems.

A substitute story will move shortly.

..all there is

[RamboLiberal]

14. Brain dead while kept on life-support for harvesting organs is dead

eom

[HeeBGBz]

17. CNN has changed their article

Attorney: Boy shot by police at school is brain dead

"A teenager who was shot by police while brandishing a pellet gun in his middle school is brain dead and remains on life support while his organs are harvested, the family's attorney told The Associated Press. Fifteen-year-old Christopher Penley, of Winter Springs, Florida, reportedly pulled the pellet gun in a classroom Friday. He was shot by a SWAT team member when he raised the gun, authorities said. "

Someone jumped the gun a little bit in the newsroom.

[Zynx]

21. Not really. Brain dead really is dead.

It's just a formality.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

25. Not unless Frist sees signs of communication.

[saigon68]

88. MAYBE the "WATER CARRIERS" will show up with their cups

Maybe the guy driving the JayZeus statue will attend too

[wisteria]

52. How insensitive to the parents. n/t

[appleannie1]

11. Did the officer know

it was a pellet gun? If not, and the kid raised it, he followed procedure in firing. It is a tragedy. But we cannot expect police to be targets no matter who is pointing a gun at them.

[bonito]

41. Oh no, just on cnn, police were told it was a toy!

Shit! link http://www.cnn.com/

[Lindacooks]

12. But, I thought in Florida if you felt threatened you can shoot first!!!??

Didn't that law apply here? How many people feel threatened every day in school, especially high school?

How's your law sitting now, Jeb, you fat wart-faced prick?

[RamboLiberal]

15. That law didn't apply here

And personally I think many liberals are over the top on thinking this law is soooooo baddddddd.

[Lindacooks]

79. Why didn't it apply?

And yes, the law is SOOOOOOOO BAAADDDDDD. It's idiotic, which is why Jeb wanted it.

[bluedog]

27. floridas law....if you feel threatened you can defend yourself

caused quite a stir here.....just wonder why they didn't use "tazers".it is quite the newsest "item" here ..to keep all in line.........local state and swats have been on a spree last year......many dies as a result of the police shotting first.....they felt their life was threatened...........

[Trillo]

16. So sad.

If this type of dealthly activity isn't outlawed, then children might learn to abuse the system to escape compulsory schooling. Keep 'em in school at all costs....

[Old Vet]

18. Father called police and told them it was a pellet gun-

Than when father arrived at school the police would not let him talk to his son . According to family's attorney

[RamboLiberal]

20. If this is true I wonder if the info got to the line SWAT cops

If it did, then yeah the cops should've had a less lethal alternate plan. Be the perfect spot for a beanbag or rubber pellet shotgun shot.

If info didn't get to the SWAT cops facing off with the kid then there may be some police commanders whose heads should be on the line.

[NashVegas]

28. Read the Full Article

Post #6 was correct: it was an assisted suicide.

I don't have too much sorrow for the kid. I'm glad he's at rest, but it was cruel of him to take so many others with him, so to speak.

[MisterP]

45. yes, we are so glad this cruel subhuman monster is off our hands...

holy crap

[Warren Stupidity]

68. What?

"but it was cruel of him to take so many others with him"

Did I miss something?

[NashVegas]

69. Ever Been Involved In a Suicide?

Even in the perimeter?

Several years ago, a young woman conned her way into the offices where I work, on the 30th floor, and out onto the balcony.

Want to guess what she did?

The person who she fooled into letting her go out there was also the person who got to see her jump. He ended up in therapy for a while.

When you commit suicide, depending on your method, it's cruel to involve others without their consent, don't you think?

[Warren Stupidity]

74. I think this boy was the victim of police violence. nt.

[Occulus]

80. I have nothing but sympathy for suicides.

And, since a good friend of mine hanged himself just last year, well, I'm in a position to know.

And guess what? The previous evening, he had called our house to ask if he could come over. My roommate went to get him, but the house was dark and the phone was just ringing. My roommate came home and left a message telling the guy that if he was going to pull that crap of having someone drive forty miles round trip to see him that he should be there, and don't call us again unless you're going to actually be home.

He had done that, you see, several times in the past. Call, "come pick me up" (he had no car), he isn't there when I/we got there.

We got the news of his suicide about a day and a half later. All I could think of was, "either he was crying out to us for help one last time that night... or he killed himself while my roommate was on his way there and intended for him to find his body."

Am I angry? No. Am I hurt? Of course, but not for my own sake. I don't really feel anything but sympathy and love for the guy, actually. He was a dear friend, for all that we didn't see each other that often. I don't think he really knew how dear to me he was... and I do feel some real, justified guilt over that.

But do I think he was "cruel" to me? No, never.

[NashVegas]

91. My Deepest Sympathy

You and your roommate must have felt awful. But you didn't make the noose for him and yes, I do think it's cruel to involve - to force - someone else into your drama, especially one of the magnitude of this story.

[sojourner]

82. yup...that'll make a BIG difference in everyone's lives. why might even

bring the disturbed teen back to life! hallelujah! :sarcasm:

[leesa]

22. It's what America wants.

[juliana24]

37. Sadly, I think you are right about that.

[pinerow]

23. Gimme an effing break...Florida is the state where we taser

5 year olds...the kid was in the bathroom...it's been a long time since I was in the eighth grade. but if I remember correctly there is only one way in or out...:wtf:

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jseankil]

30. It was a messed up kid, cold comments from you. /nm

nm

[YellowRubberDuckie]

31. I'm cold sometimes...

But in a nation where kids are shot up in schools around the country, you have to be pretty screwed up and STUPID to pull a gun, even a pellet gun, in a school. You can't blame the cops. A lot of pellet guns look just like regular pistols. And while my comment may be cold, at least I'm not afraid to be honest about how I feel...
Mel

[pinerow]

34. What happened to negotiations...the kid was in the

bathroom alone..what was the fucking hurry...wait the kid out...someone was going to get hungry and tired...tear gas...concussion grenade...too many non-fatal solutions available before you have to take out a kid...:argh:

[jkappy]

38. So utterly true

every post should be about this. god, this place is right wing.

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

36. This is way too easy...

I got past 15. I'm just tired of stupidity.
Duckie

[jseankil]

39. what's to easy??

Using non-lethal force (Stun grenade) when you have a student trapped alone in a bathroom?


If a 5 year old takes out a gun in school should he be killed, per your comments he should be. How about examining each situation rather blanketing every case with the same solution.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

43. Apparently its too easy to piss everyone off.

I'm being honest and everyone is freaking out. Listen, it doesn't bother me that you are freaking out. It doesn't bother me that you think I'm insensitive. I'm being honest. Its my opinion. I'm frustrated and honestly, I only knew that something happened. I didn't know the details. When I get frustrated with stupidity I say insensitive things. Sorry if i offended.
Duckie

[phusion]

40. past, not passed n/t

[YellowRubberDuckie]

44. Such an accident, fixed...

[EFerrari]

35. That's brilliant. Do you have kids, Mel?

[LeftHander]

47. wow is that dumb...

Eugenics is a non-science.

It is racist snake oil from the early 20th century.

[jseankil]

29. Don't buy your kids toy guns.

What's the point?

[EFerrari]

33. This kid was bullied at school and a neighbor reports

he frequently mentioned suicide.

So who is the dumbass adult or adults who didn't pay attention?

Another preventable tragedy. It's sickening.

[applegrove]

46. Screams out for micro-dots. Paint every gun with tiny bits of info

that can then be scanned by police. So they can tell. Othewise - guns should have shapes that vary a great deal - or be made entirely out of nonpaitable plastics in various neocon colors.

[jseankil]

48. kid painted the gun, had a colored tipped before being painted. /nm

nm

[applegrove]

50. Exactly. You put the micros dots all over the gun. A chip inside a dog

can be read through skin. Police would have the tool to read the dots on the gun through layers of paint, from 2000 feet away.

[Retired AF Dem]

51. Someone is pointing a gun at me

I say "please stand by for a minute while I check my transponder to make sure if it is real or not" Right. First rule of law enforcement, go home when your shift is done.

[pinerow]

53. Dude...read the articles...the boy was in the bathroom alone...

the police knew it...Negotiation 101...wait the kid out...what's the damned hurry...if, and I say if, the story is true that the police were made aware of the non-lethal nature of the weapon, then someone's ass is on the line...

[RamboLiberal]

55. I read an account that the kid came out of the bathroom

and pointed the gun. So maybe the cops were trying to wait him out, but he came at them with the gun.

[pinerow]

56. Local accounts here differ...

Cnn is not the place for news...try the Orlando Sentinal, or St. Pete times...

[Retired AF Dem]

57. Dude, when you have

survived several lethal force scenarios I just might listen to what to you have to say. As the late great Bill Jordan said "no one survives enough gun fights to become an expert on the subject"

[pinerow]

61. Hate to break it to ya...I've ducked my share of bullets...first by

growing up in the South Bronx, then getting shot at by the NVA...I have my creds...and my point stands...there are too many non-lethal solutions...rubber pellets, hostage negotiator, tasers; law enforcement has too many options to just shoot and kill...we can disagree on many points, but I also know what it is to be under fire...

[applegrove]

64. If the kid did what they say - painted his gun and then ran out holding

it up - the kid did it. Would that the police could throw a whole bucket of sensing balls into the room the kid was in - to take a reading and send the information back (on original make & model).

Without anyone getting in the line of fire.

[applegrove]

58. And have all the tools available to you to assess the situation. So

tragedy doesn't happen. So you can make the best, most informed decision.

[Retired AF Dem]

62. In my twenty years of law enforcement

I never saw any of these Star Trek tools you are talking about. Maybe the cops in the 23 century will have them. It came down to this kid wanting to be dead, his parents knew it, (and it appears didn't do anything about it) his friends knew it the problem was he didn't have the guts to do it himself. He forced someone else to do it for him and now this person has to live with it for the rest of their life.

[applegrove]

63. I agree this kid did this to himself. And yes I think that new technology

should be fast tracked. I'm sure it is already.


Here is a link to something like it:

Fingerprints for car parts
Dec 8th 2005
From The Economist print edition

Security: People have fingerprints, but objects do not—unless you spray them on in the form of thousands of tiny microdots, that is


" WHILE “smart dust” remains a technological fantasy, a distant cousin is already being used to protect valuable items around the world. The “microdots” produced by DataDot Technology, an Australian firm, are tiny polyester particles, just one millimetre wide, that can be sprayed on to valuable items such as car parts. Under ultraviolet light and a magnifying glass, any one of these thousands of dots can reveal the host vehicle's unique identity number. Of course, a car thief could try to scrape off the microdots, but their sheer number makes that impractical; a single dot is enough to identify a stolen component. Warning stickers enhance the dots' deterrent effect.

And it seems to be working: according to a study published by Australia's National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council in 2004, thefts of BMWs are down more than 60% since the carmaker began using microdots in 2001; thefts of Subaru vehicles fell by more than 90%. Ford, Porsche, Audi and Lotus are also using the technique in Australia. And the idea is spreading. Mitsubishi and Volkswagen have been experimenting with the dots in Britain and Taiwan respectively, and Nissan uses them in America on some of its most expensive headlights. Microdots can also safeguard laptops, boats, farming equipment—almost anything, in fact. In 2004, police in Florida caught a corrupt parking-meter official using planted microdotted coins.


Though the idea of microdotting dates from the 1940s, it became economically viable only with the advent of laser etching in the 1990s. Las Vegas casinos were among the first to use the dots, in an effort to root out fake gambling chips. Australian investors then bought the rights, motivated in part by Australia's high rate of car crime. Even though steering-wheel locks, satellite tracking and immobilisers had helped to reduce car thefts, trade in stolen parts remained a problem. The use of microdots is changing that.

Creating the dots themselves is fairly straightforward. The hard part, says Ian Allen, DataDot's boss, has been convincing carmakers and insurance companies to adopt them. After all, the idea of spraying a car with dots sounds strange—but it is not as dotty as it seems."

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_VNQQDTD

[Bzzzz]

65. He could have been...

tasered. Someone wanted to use him as target practice...sad :(

[applegrove]

66. A tazer is not protection from what was assumed to possibly be a real

big & damamging gun. It is not just the kid - it is the health of the police too.

[Occulus]

81. Here's what they're talking about

they're lofting out the idea that we can put what amounts to a souped-up RFID chip into firearms and firearm-shaped toys. In the case of the toys, the chip could be placed such that removing it would destroy the toy gun. For that matter, it's not too far a stretch to imagine the same principle being applied to real guns.

The chip would contain all pertinent information about the gun it's planted into- manufacturer, gauge, whether it's a toy gun, etc. Depending on the range involved, it would be entirely possible years down the road from implementation to stand entirely outside and away from any location where there's an armed suspect and find out just what he's armed with.

On its face- not a bad idea for police.

However, the whole thing carries enormous civil liberties implications: what exactly is to stop a police officer or patrol car from simply waving his detector back and forth while walking or driving, thus seeing what weapons everyone has? Is that a violation of the Second Amendment? The only practical solution, of course, is for the public to keep on hand what weapons it possesses that do not contain such chips, thus creating a grey or possibly black market in which we could have gun violence... over guns themselves. Lovely.

Don't get me wrong- this is perfectly doable on a large scale with the technology we have today; it just remains to be developed and tested. This sort of "future technology" is, in some ways, already being used, for things from runaway dog (and human!) locater chips and bracelets to OnStar. The future is, indeed, a great deal closer than you might think.

[NickB79]

84. Microwave the gun

That will destroy any chips in it. Might be hell on microwaves, but as long as it's only for a few seconds at a time, that should destroy the chip yet not damage the gun, real or fake.

Honestly, if I knew there was a chip in my gun, I'd probably microwave it just on principle :-)

[applegrove]

96. The article from the economist magazine is somewhere on this thread.

They are putting the info on dots (no so much chips) and then replicating in multiple times and adding it to the paint on car parts. So you have to get all the paint off to get rid of all the dots.

Again - talking about what the police need. Obviously they need great information. They either get it or they do not in the future.

[RamboLiberal]

54. Painting is out - there are real guns out there painted in neoncolors

or metallics, etc. Either by the gunmaker or some gun owners going for aftermarket finish jobs. I like your idea of some kind of microdot. But wouldn't work in all situations, especially when some kid or Darwin candidate pulls this out on the street on a cop.

I wouldn't want to be a cop these days with kids carrying real guns and this realistic replicas. I've read other stories where the cops have shot a kid with a replica and where a cop hasn't just cause they have a intuition the gun is a replica.

[applegrove]

60. Like I said - put the sanner on a pole. Bring several with you. Get

it to read the dot while nobody is in the line of file. Scanner could be the size of a razer. Hard to hit.

I don't know the details here. A suicide is obviously just that. But in many cases - the ability to asses is important.

My worry would be that some gun owners would see microdots as some sort of violation. Hell - microdots could even be added to present legal guns.

I'm not saying that it should be policy tomorrow - but hell if nanotechnology cannot be used to increase intelligence and save lives. Of the police included.

[Jack_DeLeon]

95. I'm sorry...

but that is the stupidest idea ever.

[RamboLiberal]

59. CNN: Lawyer: Authorities were told student's gun was fake

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/14/teen.shot/index.html

The father and brother of a teenager shot at school Friday while brandishing a pellet gun told authorities before an officer opened fire that Christopher Penley's gun was not real, the family's attorney said Saturday.

The eighth-grader is clinically brain dead and being kept on life support to harvest his organs, attorney Mark Nation said.

When Ralph Penley arrived at the school Friday to help police and school officials defuse the situation, he wasn't allowed inside, Nation said.

Nation said Ralph Penley was "angry" because he had spoken to police before he arrived at the school and told them Christopher did not have a real gun. Christopher's younger brother told school officials the same thing, Nation said.

[LisaL]

77. Even if it's true, the police are not going to listen to the suspect

parents. For obvious reasons.

[applegrove]

67. Time for microdots on all guns or gun likenesses. Again - why if they

do it for cars would they not do it for guns?

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_VNQQDTD

Fingerprints for car parts
Dec 8th 2005
From The Economist print edition

Security: People have fingerprints, but objects do not—unless you spray them on in the form of thousands of tiny microdots, that is


"WHILE “smart dust” remains a technological fantasy, a distant cousin is already being used to protect valuable items around the world. The “microdots” produced by DataDot Technology, an Australian firm, are tiny polyester particles, just one millimetre wide, that can be sprayed on to valuable items such as car parts. Under ultraviolet light and a magnifying glass, any one of these thousands of dots can reveal the host vehicle's unique identity number. Of course, a car thief could try to scrape off the microdots, but their sheer number makes that impractical; a single dot is enough to identify a stolen component. Warning stickers enhance the dots' deterrent effect.

And it seems to be working: according to a study published by Australia's National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council in 2004, thefts of BMWs are down more than 60% since the carmaker began using microdots in 2001; thefts of Subaru vehicles fell by more than 90%. Ford, Porsche, Audi and Lotus are also using the technique in Australia. And the idea is spreading. Mitsubishi and Volkswagen have been experimenting with the dots in Britain and Taiwan respectively, and Nissan uses them in America on some of its most expensive headlights. Microdots can also safeguard laptops, boats, farming equipment—almost anything, in fact. In 2004, police in Florida caught a corrupt parking-meter official using planted microdotted coins.

Advertisement
Though the idea of microdotting dates from the 1940s, it became economically viable only with the advent of laser etching in the 1990s. Las Vegas casinos were among the first to use the dots, in an effort to root out fake gambling chips. Australian investors then bought the rights, motivated in part by Australia's high rate of car crime. Even though steering-wheel locks, satellite tracking and immobilisers had helped to reduce car thefts, trade in stolen parts remained a problem. The use of microdots is changing that.

Creating the dots themselves is fairly straightforward. The hard part, says Ian Allen, DataDot's boss, has been convincing carmakers and insurance companies to adopt them. After all, the idea of spraying a car with dots sounds strange—but it is not as dotty as it seems. "

[mitchum]

70. A tragedy for both the boy and the officer

[applegrove]

71. Yes. A tragedy for many.

[LisaL]

75. Poor kid.

How awful.

[EC]

83. Ok, so aren't SWAT sharp-shooters?

But yet these guys can't aim to disarm?

[jpgray]

85. I think police training is to hit the center of your target

Most of the "shoot gun out of hand" business is just movie stuff.

[greiner3]

87. Suicide by cop from a 15 yo? WTF? n/t

[dutchdemocrat]

89. Lovely paragraph number two from the article...

The eighth-grader is clinically brain dead and being kept on life support to harvest his organs, attorney Mark Nation said.

[bdot]

92. Darwinism at it's greatest.

[fortyfeetunder]

93. We can tranquilize bears and other large critters

And a bear is damned far more dangerous than a boy with a gun.

[crankybubba]

94. and if the person who is tranqulized

has an adverse reaction and dies??? lawsuit for wronful death. issues include but are not limited to:
(1) are the police properly licensed to administer drugs to people?
(2) when will this be used or not used?
(3) what safeguards are in place to prevent the individual from hurting himself or others once tranqulized.
(4) how would you determine the proper dosage.

It comes down to police are NOT medical personell and have no business administering potentially deadly drugs to attempt to subdue people. a loser of an idea.