The Pellet Gun

Kids are being shot for having toy guns and confusing police. The St. Louis police department put out a long message about how dangerous these can be if kids, say, run when the SWAT team shows up.

I am sure I have related this before. I have only held a gun one time in my hands and that was to see what it felt like to hold a gun in one's  hands. You never know, knowledge of something that intrinsically dangerous might come in handy.

Then there was the time I found a gun in my yard while mowing. It was fairly deep in the grass but I ascertained it was some kind of gun. I quickly called the police knowing not to handle evidence, of course. The police officer arrived alone and proceeded to pick up the gun with his bare hands and say "This is a pellet gun." in a manner which was that of heavy ridicule. Well, yeah I am ignorant of guns. Guilty.

As he was handling the gun I realized that it was way realistic. Well, I am certainly glad that the officer knew everything about every crime that could have possibly gone down with a fake gun used as a real one in the weeks or months preceding... because I was unsure why the gun had been dumped in my yard which was on an intersection where people often threw out full beer cans and complete six packs to hide evidence from their car before returning home.

I did not feel any resentment. I just wished my city had hired policemen with some sense of community. And I still think I did the right thing despite the ridicule.

The police officer then looked at me and said "These are expensive, can I have it?"

yeah. whatever.