I'm so sick of the enablers and supporters of these trigger happy cops defending them! This was a little boy playing with a damn toy for God's sake.And for you wanna be hero's in blue if you are that afraid do us all a favor and quit.That kid should be here getting excited about this special time of year. Sammis I hope you see him laying dead every minute of your sorry life..

Raise your kids right and make them come home at dark especially in this crappy neighborhood. This is totally on the parent or lack of parenting.

Ditto lawman0024 and goddessorantichrist. It is sad that a select few do not understand, nor have the brain to understand. Though you cannot please everyone, most of the people who are harder to please are doing something illegal anyway. I am at my wits end with the race card. If we really want to call the kettle black, the whites ought to step up and start movements and protests every time a black person commits a violent crime against them. At least that way, we could be on the same level as the hypocritical Al and Jessie. Folks, I hate to say this but they found the toy gun. Does no one else see this as a MONEY MAKING lawsuit opportunity for the mother and family? It's not a racial issue. It's a tragedy. But it is also tragic that the mother is using this to try to profit. The officer should be apologized to by the family of Deaunta instead of chastised.

I totally agree with goddessorantichrist. As an officer, we all are afraid of not going home to our families. Wina, here is something for you to think about: If you are living in an apartment complex, where officers are having to perform stakeouts, you would know that your child should not be outside after dark. This is a tragedy that should have never happened, but to blame the officer for this incident, is very unfair. I can not imagine the pain that the officer must be going through, but to hear some of you people talk, it doesn't matter what we do, because we all make the wrong decisions anyway. It is very easy to sit back and post your comments when you have never been faced with a possible life threatening situation. We are all human, and have emotions just like the rest of you. We get excited, nervous, scared, but are required to be able to make a split second decision that could kill us, or someone else, so just remember that as you sit back and critize an officer, when you have no idea what you are talking about! JMO

Just so you know, Wina, I'm scared every time I put on a uniform. I'm scared I won't see my kids again. I'm scared that I didn't tell my family enough times that I love them. I'm scared that I'll be forced to take a life. I'm scared that my vest will fail to protect me. I'm scared that I won't get there in time when I'm called. I'm scared that the fool I arrested last night for Domestic will bond out and finally kill his family this time. I'm scared that all the people I've arrested over the years will find out where I live and hurt my family. I'm scared that something will happen to my partner, and I won't be able to do anything to help him. I'm scared, every time I search a building, of what I can't see. I'm scared of being out alone in the dark. I'm scared that this will be the traffic stop or the call that I won't walk away from. I'm scared I'll get sued and lose everything I have, or worse, get charged with a crime from a split-second life-or-death descision I was forced to make. I'm scared that my department will stab me in the back, lie, and refuse to back me up like I've seen them do to others time and time again. Sometimes, I'm more scared inside the department than outside of it. But yes, Wina, I'm scared. The people in law enforcement who aren't scared should find another line of work, or never should have passed the psych eval, Wina.

Sue the manufacture for making the TOY guns look so real I feel sorry for the entire situation The officer knowing he shot and killed a boy The parents that lost a child ITS a no win situation

Oh Wina, Please!

You Wrote: I keep hearing "that time of night", the best I remember it was around 9;00 ,daylight savings time,at a time of year when it is light out until around 8;30. I do not believe children should be kept locked within walls at that age. Xend quoteX

I had to be in bed by 10:00, forget what time issue was in place, and I never stayed outside after 9:00 PM, or I got rear end roasted.

Problem is; parents now days just let the kids roam and do what they want for the most part. Yeah, white and black, and all other shades of the rainbow. I'm so damned sick of this race issue, I could spit nails.

The boy should have been at home, safe and sound, as this would have never happened. Nowadays, a toy gun in the hand of anyone, is suspect, and could very easily be taken for a real one. I'd shoot, if I was in that situation.

I keep hearing "that time of night", the best I remember it was around 9;00 ,daylight savings time,at a time of year when it is light out until around 8;30. I do not believe children should be kept locked within walls at that age. Were you? Maybe he did have a toy gun, if not? they have almost had time to get their story together.Read the other reports given to the media and find the differences,there are quite a few. Bottom line is, really nervous and/ or scared folks don't need to be police officers. There are also those like me who would not do well in the job because lack of tolerance for bullies and smart a***s, and a short fuse.

Why would the family deny it and the officer's say something else. I am torn on this because you want to trust the law as a black person but based on other experiences you tend to not trust them. I know some cops white and black that I feel I could trust my life with. Good people. At the same time, I have heard of some polices white and black who are walking a fine line between being a cop and a villian. Let's face it these are just regular people too who yes, supposedly are held to higher standards but we all know humans fall weak to this life and their personal feelings. I dont know about this one. One thing that bothers me about the cop is that when this story first hit, the newspaper reported he had been fired or tranferred from other police departments for complaints and supposedly abusing people in his custody. If this child had a toy gun than its justified period. Cops on a stakeout don't have time to decipher a real gun from a fake one. As for the child being out at night, in country towns its pretty common for kids to play in their area and even walk to the local store with friends or relatives. I am sure as a 12 year old his mom had let him walk to the store before. I don't really see the neglect unless I missed something else on this.

I'm so glad that the toy gun was shown on the TV Report last night. This refutes what the parents were claiming, about there being no toy gun. I'm surprised that the Prosecutor hasn't brought some kind of charge against the parents, for failure to keep up with their 12 year old boy at that hour of the night. I still cannot believe they allowed this child to be out at that hour. This is for sure a tragedy and a very tough lesson to be learned. I hope a lot of parents have followed this story, so this will not be repeated. JMO