Liberty Minute October 29 2013

As a police firearms instructor, Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff Erick Gelhaus would frequently tell his students: ?Today is the day you may need to kill someone in order to go home.? During a forum discussion Gelhaus addressed the question of whether lethal force can be used against someone who brandishes a BB gun, emphasizing that the most important consideration is whether the shooter was ?in fear of death or serious bodily injury.?

Gelhaus proved himself willing to follow his own advice when he shot and killed 13-year-old Andy Lopez, who was carrying an airsoft BB gun modeled after an AK-47 rifle.

Lopez was walking on a sidewalk en route to a friend?s house after school. Ten seconds after the boy was spotted by Gelhaus and a trainee officer, he was dead. Gelhaus had ordered Lopez to ?drop the gun?; as the 13-year-old turned in response to the voice, Gelhaus fired seven shots into his back.

A police investigator explained that Gelhaus ?was fearful that he was going to be shot.? This despite the fact that the airsoft rifle was much smaller than an actual AK-47, and was easily identifiable as a toy replica by people who, unlike Gelhaus, aren?t certified firearms experts.

Making ?officer safety? the highest priority means that innocent people will die.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.