Erick Gelhaus
For those who don’t know the sheriff deputy who shot and killed 13-year-old Andy Lopez in Santa Rosa California has been identified as Erick Gelhaus…. He’s a 24 year veteran of the force, a firearms instructor, an Iraq War vet and writer for several gun publications..Recently some folks in folks following the case came across his photo bucket page and saw this bumper sticker …
Ya gotta wonder what his mindset is overall.. because this bumper sticker doesn’t advocate coexistence.. It advocates intolerance..
A few other things to think about..lets not delude ourselves and act like 13-year-old Andy Lopez was trying to scare anyone especially an officer. He wasn’t trying to take them out with a pellet gun nor was he playing toy soldier..Folks in the area said he had on earphones when he to his friend’s house when police came up behind him..
The officers were not there engaging Andy Lopez because neighbors were scared or reported a man with a gun.. It was 3pm in the afternoon, he was going to a friend’s house leaving a field that many use to shoot pellet guns.. There was nothing usual about his actions. There was no reports of a robberies and the police were not looking for a suspect who fit Andy Lopez’s description..
The police shot 13-year-old Andy Lopez within 10 seconds of coming upon him, meaning that they may have at 2 or 3 times at most, he turns around to see who is yelling and gets blasted 7x. If he was wearing headphones as reported or simply didn’t hear or understand which was a possibility because the neighborhood is mostly Latino, the police should’ve approached this differently?
What remains in question is whether or not Andy even knew it was police officers yelling at him.. Did they say ‘This is the Police drop your gun and put your hands up? or did they say ‘Drop your weapon’? Deputy Gelhaus claims he doesn’t remember if heidentified himself as the police. His partner was still in the car when the shots were fired. He doesn’t indicate that they had identified themselves.
One has to wonder why they didn’t take more time to access the situation. Why was Andy shot so quickly? Within the 10 seconds of seeing Andy Lopez did these deputies have enough time to determine whether or not this was a kid and not a grown man ‘brandishing’ an assault rifle??
One would think officers are trained know all these different scenarios. One would hope that in an area where kids do carry pellet guns that they would know better upon encountering a 13-year-old. What we are being told to believe is that a 13-year-old boy pointed his gun at the police..In other words, he heard the police turned around and said ‘f– it lemme point my gun at you‘.. That makes no sense whatsoever..Deputy Gelhaus with all his 24 years of firearms training couldn’t tell this was a pellet gun or that Andy wasn’t ‘aiming at him when he turned around?
It’s also wrong to presume that at 13 year old would automatically know to be extra cautious around cops i.e . not making sudden moves or making sure his toy gun was pointed down etc.. As adults we know this.. But for many, especially if they haven’t encountered been apprehended or detained, they might know, or they might be hella nervous.. Police are trained to deal with those situations and should know how to put a kid at ease..Safety first, not killing first..
It’s horrifying. All the officers have to do to cover for their actions is to say they felt “in danger.” In other words, if a license to kill is what they want, that’s what they’ve got.
I guess you were there and witnessed the entire thing Davey …… Any sort of bias here ? No wonder you are just another yes RASCIST talking head
Nope I wasnt there.. I’m just going off what they said in their reports..and raising questions..
You werent there either..so that only not make u a biased ..but a dumbass too
Black people dnt impose racism so we can’t be racist. No other nationality has systematic control over others except for white people. Only white folks impose racism. Other folks can be reactionary, you dumb White supremacist, but not racist. Next time you capitalize a word directed at someone, make sure u can spell it
Have you taken a look at the other photos in this guys Photobucket album?? HFMoG.
Yes I have looked at it
Only the people who were there really knows what happened… Too bad the truth will never really be known.
DC Johnson – either use a spelling checker or learn to spell. And the brain, well, some things have no remedy.
FTP
The boy would still be alive if he had complied with the police and put the gun down. Another man approached him even before the police did to tell him to get rid of the gun because the police were coming and he didn’t do it. Honestly, look at that gun. These kids push the envelope and test the waters which demonstrates to the officers that they don’t care about the safety of others. What else was that officer suppose to do?
What was the officer to do? see if this 13 year old actually heard him.. The witness told him to put the gun away just as the police pulled up behind him.. why would Andy put the gun away.. It wasn’t illegal for him to have it…Where was he supposed to put the gun? The police were behind him and never identified themselves as police.. he turned around and was shot .. all this happened within 10 seconds.. No excuse.. There was no envelop being pushed.. What we had was negligence and an over reaction NO excuse..
You are talking about a child here. What kind of life experience does a typical kid have that prepares him to interact with police officers, to process information in 10 seconds? The kid wasn’t doing anything wrong, so he didn’t feel scared or guilty about anything. He hadn’t broken any laws or rules and came from a community who apparently loved him. That anyone would try to blame this boy’s death on him is obscene.
This boy was shot not once but SEVEN TIMES! A child. If this had happened in Santa Barbara to some white parent’s child, the president would be giving a speech and attending the funeral.
Real talk Blueburner
That’s absolute fucking bullshit. I’m white and I am just as upset at this poor child’s death as anyone else, and I believe the cop is clearly to blame for this tragedy. What is also a tragedy, is that you actually think that you aren’t being racist when you say if it was a white kid bla bla bla ISN’T being racist! Holy fuck! Where do you get off you fucking idiot? Get off of this “we’re being oppressed by white people” bullshit. As a white person, I don’t hate anyone, but I do hate stupidity and racism and you are being both! A stupid racist! STFU and get off of the internet until you can learn to be a rational human being!
if that kid was white, from a middle class neighborhood, and shooting his pellet gun (just like i did as a kid),this would be a national news story. drag your knuckles back to the hills, forest, or cave that you came out of. and i bet any damn thing in the world that most the folks crying for that cop would freak right the hell out if some one tried to ban pellet guns because they are too confusing for the police.
That actually has been tried. They have also tried to pass laws to make them a neon color or clear. The air soft industry opposed it. Kids don’t want to play with neon pink weapons. They want a “real feel” and for the price of these weapons, it would seem they should have it. My son owns two: an even more realistic AK-47 replica and an authentic hand gun replica, although that one may have the orange ring. My son has had his for a few years and he has been warned over and over if he so much as sees an officer to immediately put the weapon on the ground, raise his hands so an officer can see them and wait for further instruction. However, that gun didn’t belong to Andy, so I don’t know if anyone gave him that same advice and even if they had, I am not sure he saw or heard the police, I should think the deputy would have known if the kid was just turning around or really seemingly menaced the sherriff. The two ways of carrying the gun would be very different.
All law enforcement officers should be required to wear lapel cameras and digital record all interactions with the public. Cameras would allow citizens who are the victims of police misconduct to be able to prove their claims. At the same time, police officers who are unfairly accused of misconduct could prove their innocence.
While I agree that the death of a child is a tragedy, let’s play “Devil’s Advocate” here.
If the headline instead was “24-Year Veteran of Sonoma County Sheriff’s Dept Killed By Teen With AK47 Rifle” would you even be talking about it?
How many of you would be cheering about the murder of a cop?
Regardless of what anyone says, this child was murdered by a individual who felt empowered by society to be able to act without consequences. Yes the child made mistakes,carrying a toy gun, but the officer acted as an empowered bully and was murdered him. When those who ‘stand behind’ the officer they set into action circumstances that will in the end result in another murder. It is time to stop…… and say simply this officer murdered this child.
i hate the police. and this peckerwood clearly is a dysfunctional murderous coward.
I’m sure Deputy Gelhaus didn’t wake up that morning hoping for a chance to bag a teenager. My guess is that he followed his training to the letter. I hope they take another look at police training & policy to see if there’s room for improvement or alternate tactics based on the totality of the circumstances.
Although tragic case, I am having a difficulty understanding why these people are protesting. I get the impression people are going over board with this case. I feel the deputy was doing his job. We are all human so whatever preconceived notions people think he had does not undermine him as a professional. The boy’s parents should have taken better care of their son. Why was he running around in that neighborhood with a toy gun? Why didn’t the boy follow the deputy’s direction? The parents are pressing a civil case when there hasn’t been enough evidence collected yet for a criminal case. This makes me believe the parents are just money hungry and takes credibility away from their cause—- whatever it is. I seriously don’t believe the parents nor the people protesting have enough evidence that proves the deputy did anything wrong.
Yea! What if he was going to the mall and shot and killed 100 people. Or better yet, what if he was going to the school and he killed 100 children. What if he had a nuclear detonator on him and was about to blow away San Fran. But, he wasn’t going to do any of those things and the Deputy should have taken enough time to determine the true amount of danger present. Can’t just make assumptions that cost someone their life. Deputy obviously over reacted.
Put this guy in JAIL!!!!!!!
Let’s NOTE that the sgt TOOK DOWN that photobucket page. TOO MUCH INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE AS TO HIS MINDSET. I HOPE THE LAWYERS GOT IT ALL.
Call me ANOTHER EASTSIDER FOR JUSTICE FOR EDDIE LOPEZ!!
The kid was shot 7 times including a few rounds when he was down. The entire Police force in California has evolved into a gang of jack-booted thugs, Deputy Gelhaus, do everybody a big favor, strap on all your weapons, and go to the Golden Gate Bridge, and make the plunge!
Greay photo to use of the kid…pretending to smoke…nice!
Andy Lopez made a mistake and it cost him his life it’s his fault that he was on the street with his weapon . i airsoft and if i was so ignorant as to do what he did and was shot i dont want anyone to rally because its my fault. Gelhaus was doing his duty and only other ignorant, uneducated simpletons such as the people still fighting against Gelhaus could not see this. maybe there should be more kid shooting to make people realize how right Gelhaus was to protect himself and others against the stupidity of this teenager.