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An Ohio police officer, his unsheathed gun, approached two boys in a Columbus neighborhood over the weekend and told them to kneel before picking up what was going on. Is revealed to be a BB gun lying on the sidewalk.
What followed was not a shootout or an arrest, but a conference with two black teenagers aged 11 and 13. The video of the October 13 incident, recorded on Constable Peter Casuccio's camera camera and released Monday by the Columbus police under the title "Lesson of Life" for youth, launched an online discussion on the maintenance of order, control of breeds and firearms in the United States.
"I could have killed you," says agent Casuccio in the video. "I want you to think about it tonight when you go to bed. You could be gone. Everything you want to do in this life could have been finished. "
Earlier in the video, he said, "I'm proud of being a very bad hombre because I have to be," warning the boys, "Do not make me."
At another point, he says, "The last thing I want to do is shoot an 11 year old man. Because your life has not even started yet. And it could have ended. Because I would not have missed "
The Columbus Police Division declared the Twitter and Facebook, which posted the video of the meeting, after a 911 call, to educate youth about the realities of police and carrying a firearm.
The national police debate has intensified in Ohio after the fatal murder by police of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black man killed while playing with a pellet gun in Cleveland in 2014, and Tire King, a 13-year-old black. aged who had a BB gun and was shot in Columbus in 2016.
"Why is your department trying to congratulate itself for NOT firing on black children who had a BB gun?" Wrote one person on the ministry's Facebook page this week. "Open Carry is LEGAL in Ohio. Whites, INCLUDING WHITE CHILDREN, wander openly, wielding REAL guns all the time. Are you threatening them with murder?
Another person wrote, "I'm not from the area, but I felt moved to comment when I read this story. The agent Casuccio has perfectly managed this situation! I have the greatest respect for this man. Let's hope that these two young people have learned a very valuable lesson that could someday save their lives. "
Denise Alex-Bouzounis, a spokeswoman for the Columbus police, said Wednesday that the body camera video had been brought to the attention of the department after being highlighted by The Starfish Assignment, a community organization.
In the video, the agent brings one of the boys home and talks to a parent "to show the good police work that our agents perform every day," said Ms. Alex-Bouzounis.
She said she was aware that the film had sparked both positive and negative reactions, but added, "Every time the police do something, they are criticized."
"It's not a race problem," she said. "It's only an officer and a child who has made a bad decision to be educated by a caring officer."
Officer Casuccio, a veteran who has been with the police for four years, is posted to the predominantly black neighborhood of South Linden, where the meeting took place, she said. It started after a caller at 911 warned that "this guy had brandished a gun," but noted that the people involved were "two young children," according to a recording released by CBS News.
The ministry said in a statement that the police officer responded around 5:30 pm. "When he arrived at the scene, he discovered that it was a boy of 11 years, "he said. "He was carrying a BB gun."
A 10-minute version of the video that was published by local news agencies shows the officer coming out of his patrol vehicle, his gun in his hand, asking the boys to kneel and take the BB gun.
The Ministry's social media message, which lasts approximately two minutes, begins with Constable Casuccio, who speaks to boys, who say they are 11 and 13 years old, while leaning against a shipboard splitter. of the road. Their faces were blurry.
The officer tells them that he has received a call about "two young black men" who "look really young and have just thrown a gun."
"Listen, here is the market, O.K.?" Said the officer. "You had to show someone, because how on earth did they know you had it?"
A boy said that he only held the weapon. "You can not do that in today's world," says Officer Casuccio. "Look, this thing looks real, brother."
The boys apologize. "You should be sorry and you should be scared," says the officer. "Do you think I want to film an 11 year old? Do you think I want to shoot a 13 year old boy? "The boys answer," No, sir. "
"But do I look like a guy type who will shoot someone?" He asks. The boys answer, "Yes, sir."
The agent then takes one of the boys home and explains to his mother how he unsheathed his service weapon at the start of the call.
"He could have shot you for that, do you know?" Said the mother to her son.
"No matter what people say about guys wearing this uniform … we care about it," says Agent Casuccio. "We are legitimately concerned."
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