Teen Points BB Gun At Arlington Officer

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ARLINGTON (CBDFW.COM) - Real crimes—committed with fake guns. It's a situation that Arlington Police say is happening with more frequency. And it's one that just this week could have cost a 15-year-old his life.

"He kept ignoring the officers' commands," says Chief Will Johnson. "And then when this individual pulled out a gun, this gun: that was a game changing event."

It turns out that the weapon was a very realistic looking BB gun.

"I think it's very scary," says Arlington Mom Christina Ruiz. When shown a picture of the teenager's BB gun and a police revolver, Ruiz couldn't tell which one was fake. But, then again, she shouldn't have to: and Arlington's police chief says neither should his officers. "I can think of no reason why that gun needs to look like that," said Chief Johnson during an afternoon briefing with reporters. "If we don't want the outcome to be a teenager or kid getting shot …as a society we have to ask the question: should this be a part of society?"

On Monday, an Arlington officer had less than a second to decide to knock the gun out of the teenager's hand. It was only then that the officer was able to determine that the weapon was a BB gun. "I think he's lucky that the police officer didn't shoot at him," says Ruiz, "he's fortunate."

However, Chief Johnson warns that police use of force policies are complicated—and that it would not be "realistic" to expect that the next officer encounter with a fake gun would end with an equally good outcome. "Because of the close proximity, the officer was able to react the way that he did. If the officer hadn't been that close, his reaction might have been for a different tool and everybody knows what tool that would have been."

Although the veteran officer declined to be interviewed for our story, after the teen was taken into custody, he wrote in his report: "I took a few minutes to try and calm down, because I believed up until a few minutes ago, that someone had tried to kill me…"

According to Chief Johnson, "one variable changing ever so slightly and the outcome could have been radically different."

Police couldn't comment on a possible motive or if mental health issues were a factor. The 15 year old is now in the custody of juvenile authorities facing charges of making a terroristic threat. "It's very scary," says Ruiz. "Even if it is a BB gun, because the next person may have a real gun."

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