Erick Gelhaus ID-ed as cop who murdered Andy Lopez

[heavenlyboy34]

Administrative leave, of course. Cuz, ya know, murdering mundane kids is stressful work. :mad::mad:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/29/erick-gelhaus-cop-shooter_n_4173593.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/29/erick-gelhaus-cop-shooter_n_4173593.html)

The Sonoma County sheriff's deputy who gunned down a 13-year-old California boy over a toy gun has been identified.
The Sheriff's office confirmed Sunday (http://www.petaluma360.com/article/20131028/ARTICLES/310281004/-1/PT07?p=3&tc=pg) to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that Deputy Erick Gelhaus, 48, fired the shots.
Gelhaus, a 24-year veteran of the office, is also an Iraq War veteran, firearms instructor and contributing writer to gun publications.
On Oct. 22, Gelhaus shot and killed 13-year-old Andy Lopez of Santa Rosa, firing seven rounds into the teen (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/26/andy-lopez-shooting_n_4165838.html).
The officer, accompanied by an officer-in-training, thought the teen was armed and radioed for backup. He ordered the boy to drop what he presumed to be a weapon. The object turned out to be a pellet gun, a toy in the shape of an AK-47.
Ten seconds later, Gelhaus allegedly opened fire when he saw Lopez -- his back to the deputies -- begin to turn around with the barrel of the toy gun rising. The officer-in-training did not fire, according to authorities.
In a 2008 article written by Gelhaus (http://www.10-8consulting.com/recentarticles.php) for S.W.A.T. Magazine, the officer warned against hesitation in deciding to use a firearm lethally.
"Today is the day you may need to kill someone in order to go home," he wrote. "If you cannot turn on the 'mean gene' for yourself, who will? If you find yourself in an ambush, in the kill zone, you need to turn on that mean gene."
His writings ranged from advice on how to hold and operate firearms to what to do in potentially life-threatening situations.
"Taking some kind of action -- any kind of action -- is critical," he wrote. "If you shut down (physically, psychologically, or both) and stay in the kill zone, bad things will happen to you. You must take some kind of action."
Gelhaus was previously in the Army and National Guard for six years (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/erick-gelhaus/32/b35/236), according to his LinkedIn profile. He has also been a firearms instructor for over a decade at Gunsite Academy, an Arizona-based company that teaches gun-handling, marksmanship, and law enforcement to "free citizens of the U.S." (http://www.gunsite.com/main/)
SFGate reported that in 1995, Gelhaus shot himself in the leg (http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Deputy-who-shot-boy-with-toy-gun-ID-d-as-gun-4933421.php) with his service handgun while holstering the firearm to frisk a teen for weapons. Officials said up until last Tuesday's shooting of Lopez, Gelhaus had never shot at a suspect before.
On Sunday, more than 1,000 people (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/28/andy-lopez-service_n_4169974.html) showed up to a service for the slain teen. On Tuesday, a march to the sheriff's office in protest (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20131029/us-deputies-shoot-13-year-old/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage) of officer Gelhaus is expected to take place, according to the Associated Press.
Spokesman Assistant Sheriff Lorenzo Duenas said the sheriff's office has received multiple threats against Gelhaus, and that steps will be taken to protect him if necessary.
As an investigation into the incident continues with both the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and the FBI, District Attorney Jill Ravitch is urging the public to be patient.
"In order for the process to succeed, I ask that we be given the time needed for a deliberate, step-by-step investigation to occur," Ravitch said. "I know we all seek the truth about what occurred on Oct. 22, and there is no one more committed to determining the facts than me."
Gelhaus and the officer-in-training have been placed on administrative leave.

[Snew]

Gelhaus was previously in the Army and National Guard for six years (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/erick-gelhaus/32/b35/236)

Unfortunately this is not much of a surprise.


R.I.P. to Andy :(

[HOLLYWOOD]

Sounds like the Sheriffs department's lawyer wrote the report... which, of course, the lawyer on retainer, reviewed and redlined Gelhaus' report, PRIOR to official submission. It's all rigged today by government... Well rehearsed, reviewed, written, & submitted.


He ordered the boy to drop what he presumed to be a weapon. The object turned out to be a pellet gun, a toy in the shape of an AK-47.
Ten seconds later, Gelhaus allegedly opened fire when he saw Lopez -- his back to the deputies -- begin to turn around with the barrel of the toy gun rising. The officer-in-training did not fire, according to authorities.

[pcosmar]

No Hesitation

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uSCMhE56bEw/USWcdE9AO-I/AAAAAAAAJDs/LTmgPbh3hsU/s1600/No+more+hesitation.JPG

Remember that when they come for you or yours.

[phill4paul]

He ordered the boy to drop what he presumed to be a weapon.

Presumption is now a legal excuse for murder? I'll use that defense if I'm ever brought to trial (which I won't be) for shooting a cop. I "presumed" he was one of the "bad ones" I read so much about.

[Brian4Liberty]

The Sheriff's office confirmed Sunday to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that Deputy Erick Gelhaus, 48, fired the shots.
Gelhaus, a 24-year veteran of the office, is also an Iraq War veteran, firearms instructor and contributing writer to gun publications.

Strange. Did he take leave to go to Iraq?

Bringing Iraq to America. Osama Bin Laden has won.

[Mani]

I shouldn't be surprised....but I still was...There are a TON of statist apologists for the officers.

Saying the kid got what he deserved by pointing a gun at an officer. Or NOT FOLLOWING commands of the officer. Or Poor officer didn't know it was a toy.


Let's be clear 13 years old...That's a child. That's BARELY a teen, that's a little kid. It's he has a toy.


But the real thing that explains everything is this:



Today is the day you may need to kill someone in order to go home," he wrote. "If you cannot turn on the 'mean gene' for yourself, who will? If you find yourself in an ambush, in the kill zone, you need to turn on that mean gene."

"Taking some kind of action -- any kind of action -- is critical," he wrote. "If you shut down (physically, psychologically, or both) and stay in the kill zone, bad things will happen to you. You must take some kind of action."


Ummm..Kill zone? Ambush? This Soldier is basically telling officers how to train? Because USA is a war? USA we need to worry about ambushes and kill zones?


Guess who's the enemy folks. Guess who they MUST TAKE ACTION against to survive the kill zone?

[Anti-Neocon]

I shouldn't be surprised....but I still was...There are a TON of statist apologists for the officers.

Saying the kid got what he deserved by pointing a gun at an officer. Or NOT FOLLOWING commands of the officer. Or Poor officer didn't know it was a toy.


Let's be clear 13 years old...That's a child. That's BARELY a teen, that's a little kid. It's he has a toy.
Why can't cops stand their ground? If anyone is pointing what looks like a real gun at me, I want the right to defend my life, 13 year old or not. The fact that he was a cop shouldn't change anything.

If staying logically consistent makes me a "statist apologist", so be it.

[heavenlyboy34]

Why can't cops stand their ground? If anyone is pointing what looks like a real gun at me, I want the right to defend my life, 13 year old or not. The fact that he was a cop shouldn't change anything.

If staying logically consistent makes me a "statist apologist", so be it.
Is "shoot first, think later" the same as "standing your ground"?

[Anti-Neocon]

Is "shoot first, think later" the same as "standing your ground"?
How is this "shoot first, think later"?

When someone is pointing a gun at you (which Mani said it was), there's not much time for thinking. Much less time than for George Zimmerman, for example, and I defended his right to defend himself.

[heavenlyboy34]

Interesting new details:
The revelation the teen was only given one warning before being shot will likely be used as part of an FBI investigation.It was also recently revealed that only 10 seconds had passed between the moment the deputy and his partner called dispatch to report a suspicious person when Gelhaus opened fire.
Maria Marquez and Juana Rojas said they were behind the patrol car at a stop sign when they saw the deputies drive over to the lot to where the teen was standing.
The women said they heard the deputies shout, 'Drop the gun' just once, before opening their car doors and firing at Lopez without giving him a chance to act, KGO-TV reported. (http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/north_bay&id=9302840)


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2480337/Funeral-held-Andy-Lopez-13-shot-dead-police-carrying-toy-rifle.html#ixzz2jHY5DK46
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter (http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=MailOnline) | DailyMail on Facebook (http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bBOTTqvd0r3Pooab7jrHcU&u=DailyMail)

I hope this answers your question, A-N.

[Anti-Neocon]

Well, in that case it doesn't look like standing his ground.

I maintain that I was specifically responding to Mani's account of the story though ("Saying the kid got what he deserved by pointing a gun at an officer."). If you point what looks like a real gun at someone who has a gun, you should expect to get shot.

[Mani]

Well, in that case it doesn't look like standing his ground.

I maintain that I was specifically responding to Mani's account of the story though ("Saying the kid got what he deserved by pointing a gun at an officer."). If you point what looks like a real gun at someone who has a gun, you should expect to get shot.



Not AT ALL My story of "POINTED the gun." Sorry I should have clarified. I sometimes get pissed reading this stuff and type too fast.

Those are comments from State Apologists. I should have clarified that Ive seen TOO many comments from state apologists saying the kid got what he deserved, "BASED ON what the OFFICERS are SAYING"


I'm more of the opinion the, "POINTED THE GUN" is nothing more than an excuse so the officers can justify killing children.


I've heard it too many times, in too many cases, where officers were being THREATENED, and were FORCED to shoot.

I don't believe it.


My belief is the kid was minding his own business when cops started barking shit at him and just opened fire before the child even had a second to figure out what he's supposed to do. He was probably in SHOCK who and why are are people screaming at me, and before he could react he was gunned down.

That's my jaded, cynical belief of what happened.

So that's why the state apologist comments piss me off, that "Kid got what he deserved" because I don't personally believe he pointed anything at anyone. I think he was blown away before he had a chance to take any action "because there was a suspect on the loose". I just get SICK of Officers MAKING SHIT up on Police reports, and people taking as the word of God.


We all know when there is a "PERSON of interest" "On the loose" the police are trigger happy as fuck. Remember the ladies driving a truck were shot at 100 times because.....well dorner was driving a truck...Not the same license plate or truck color...BUT HOLY FUCK! It's a TRUCK! OMG! Start shooting.

You know these fucks are trigger happy. After they are done killing people, they just need to write down, "Felt threatened" on a police report, And take a weeks vacation.

[Mani]

The media doesn't help this situation either. They also OFTEN times take the Police Report as Gospel.


If you've been on this site long enough we've seen enough cases where POLICE are caught lying on their reports. We have Actual cases and facts pointing out either via witnesses, video footage, or other cases in court were Police are BUSTED saying FALSE things in a police report to validate shooting, attacking, or killing someone or something.

So for ME, I now take the words on a police report with a grain of salt. They have every incentive to LIE on reports, because simple wording gets them out every time. "I felt threatened" *BOOM* dog brain all over the sidewalk, "I feared for my safety" *POW* *POW" blow away an elderly person "I saw him brandishing a weapon" Dead teen in an alley.



It goes on and on, but too many people still hear a cop say, "He pointed a gun at me and refused to listen to commands" and they say...The cop had no choice. They never QUESTION they cop. It's a B.S. system. ONLY the RARE instance there is video or witnesses do these cops get questioned. The rest of the time they make up whatever they want.

How about that getting through life? Make any mistake on your job? You can kill people at will. And just repeat 2-3 phrases and walk away scott free every time..and get a 1 week paid vacation on top if it.

[jkr]

WE
R
UNDER
SIEGE

[tod evans]

"Deputy Erick Gelhaus, 48"

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1500142.1383063162!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/rifle30n-2-web.jpg

Address?
Spouse?
Church?

[tod evans]

Here's the DA who claims she's going to investigate this murder.

Meet Jill Ravitch DA
http://www.watchsonomacounty.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jr.jpg

[osan]

Presumption is now a legal excuse for murder?

I am assuming this is a rhetorical question.


I'll use that defense if I'm ever brought to trial (which I won't be) for shooting a cop.

Who makes your crystal ball; I'd really like to buy a good one. Or are you saying you will lay down for any cop who just decides you hve lived long enough?

[osan]

I shouldn't be surprised....but I still was...There are a TON of statist apologists for the officers.

Saying the kid got what he deserved by pointing a gun at an officer. Or NOT FOLLOWING commands of the officer. Or Poor officer didn't know it was a toy.

Or that the boy was deaf... or a little "slow"... or...

None of that is relevant when the murderer is a cop and the murderee is nobody of significance.



Let's be clear 13 years old...That's a child. That's BARELY a teen, that's a little kid. It's he has a toy.

Here I must disagree. That we maintain young people in a state of child-like arrest and in many cases functional imbecility now often well into the 30s it does not follow that they are not adults. My grandma was married at 15, bore my uncle at 16, was a baroness and kept a large household, servants, and so forth. By the time she was married she probably knew more about keeping a household and entertaining aristrocrats in ways perhaps not even seen today at diplomatic functions than perhaps anyone alive on the planet at this moment.

Thirteen is by all means adult - or SHOULD be, shall I amend. Few things are as pathetic to my eye than idiot children in 30 year old bodies.


Today is the day you may need to kill someone in order to go home," he wrote. "If you cannot turn on the 'mean gene' for yourself, who will? If you find yourself in an ambush, in the kill zone, you need to turn on that mean gene."

I ag ree that his choice of terms is very revealing. He, himself, strikes me as one of those idiot-children, judging by this. This language is clearly chosen for the drama of self-aggrandizement, the subtext here being "Oooo... look how edgy I am... how powerful... I've got the thousand-yard stare... I'm so badass..." This seems to me to be the sort of personality that, were we to be just in banning the possession of arms to anyone, should be the first on the list.


"Taking some kind of action -- any kind of action -- is critical," he wrote. "If you shut down (physically, psychologically, or both) and stay in the kill zone, bad things will happen to you. You must take some kind of action."


Yes, and that includes slowing down, showing some courage and respect for life in general and not just your own. But this is beyond the comprehension of such people whose rank cowardice drives them to such opinions.

[phill4paul]

I am assuming this is a rhetorical question.

It was.


Who makes your crystal ball; I'd really like to buy a good one. Or are you saying you will lay down for any cop who just decides you hve lived long enough?

Kreskin. Got it at a yard sale. :D In all seriousness I realize that there is a war on US and I will not be ending up like this....

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OLqHcy-BeQw/UU9aN7ASmtI/AAAAAAAAJJk/LlHA77Q5vuE/s1600/nick-christie-pepper-sprayed-300x225.jpg

[osan]

Why can't cops stand their ground?

Nobody said they cannot, but there are a couple of differences. Firstly, if you assume the mantle of the public trust you are to be held to a significantly higher standard of behavior and in any event should be held to at least an equal standard of judgment. If a cop can shoot a 13 year old boy in the back, then I am equally entitled to shoot a cop in the back if I "feel threatened".

All of this excusing and praising cop-as-hero for their acts of pure and simple murder is now tacitly justified on the phony baloney premise that they place themselves in harm's way every day... as if that were EVER a legitimate reason to excuse butchery. It is not as if someone was holding a gun at their backs forcing them to be cops. Even so, that would still not excuse their acts of murder. If someone forces me shoot another in order to save my own skin, how is it that the local prosecutor will not deem it justifiable? How is it that I am obliged to risk death in order not to bring harm to another while a cop can kill at will and face no similar consequence?


If anyone is pointing what looks like a real gun at me, I want the right to defend my life, 13 year old or not. The fact that he was a cop shouldn't change anything.

The hell you say. Beause cops assume "authority" to which they hold no title regardless of what any idiotic and arbitrary statute may say to the contrary, you had better be damned certain that it does indeed change things, and at a fundamental level. Any cop that shoots anyone in the line of duty at any time, for ANY reason should go on unpaid suspension for at least 6 months IMO, be investigated 9 ways to Sunday, and if determined to have not acted justly he should be sent to prison, perhaps even administratively. Want to be a cop? You waive your right to trial by jury. Given what we see from police daily, I would call this the least we could do to better ensure the safety of ourselves from these rogue lunatics. I don't give a damn if there are good men out there doing the job. It is the UNIFORM and everything for which it stands that is bad. Any good man willing to don the trappings of such high-potential evil needs to be kept eyes upon 24x7. Such men are never trustworthy.


If staying logically consistent makes me a "statist apologist", so be it.

And you seem to wear the badge with some pride, judging by the apparent tone. You do err, however, in the assessment of your own logical consistency. You are not consistent in the least for the reasons I make clear.

Question: what are you doing here; trolling? Perhaps you would be well advised to get a life.

[Cap]

Andy of Mayberry would be proud.
Seriously, look how far we have fallen.

[osan]

When someone is pointing a gun at you (which Mani said it was), there's not much time for thinking.

Typical thinking of someone with no martial training. What you assert predicates almost entirely on the prevailing conditions.

How is it that ANY cop survived to retirement age years ago when amply abundant bad men roamed the earth as they do today, and yet shootings by police were comparatively so very rare? When I was coming up, even in cities like my home town (NYC), cops shooting ANYONE amounted to a small handful of instances in any randomly chosen five-year period. It was an event taht got people's attention. Today, it is almost a daily occurrence. So what changed? Cops did.


Much less time than for George Zimmerman, for example, and I defended his right to defend himself.

Stated categorically as you have here, this approaches the ridiculous.

[asurfaholic]

Why can't cops stand their ground? If anyone is pointing what looks like a real gun at me, I want the right to defend my life, 13 year old or not. The fact that he was a cop shouldn't change anything.

If staying logically consistent makes me a "statist apologist", so be it.

Yea, cuz there's no such thing as taking cover and assessing the situation. Nope, just open fire and blow that bastard away at the first sign of non compliance.

You are confused, to the core.

[Cleaner44]

Why can't cops stand their ground? If anyone is pointing what looks like a real gun at me, I want the right to defend my life, 13 year old or not. The fact that he was a cop shouldn't change anything.

If staying logically consistent makes me a "statist apologist", so be it.

The cop says he saw the child "turn around with the barrel of the toy gun rising" but he did not say the child pointed the (non)gun at him.

Even if it had been a real gun that the child was bearing, bearing arms is not illegal and should not be a justification for killing.

There was no report of a shooter in the neighborhood. There was no report of an attacker with an AK47 in the area. This child did not bring a weapon to his shoulder and put the officer in his sights.

[Occam's Banana]

Presumption is now a legal excuse for murder? I'll use that defense if I'm ever brought to trial (which I won't be) for shooting a cop. I "presumed" he was one of the "bad ones" I read so much about.

Only elites and their enforcers are permitted the luxury of such presumptions.

[Red Green]

"Deputy Erick Gelhaus, 48"

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1500142.1383063162!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/rifle30n-2-web.jpg

Address?
Spouse?
Church?

That would make a great "No Hesitation" target for the Rest-Of-US.

[pcosmar]

How is this "shoot first, think later"?

When someone is pointing a gun at you.

Because someone with a toy, or a Cell Phone,, or a TV Remote Is NOT Pointing a GUN at YOU.

Fucking Think.

[aGameOfThrones]

Here I am, walking, minding my own business, when all of a sudden an asshole cops yells at me, "respect my authoritah", I turn, I'm dead.

[asurfaholic]

Here I am, walking, minding my own business, when all of a sudden an asshole cops yells at me, "respect my authoritah", I turn, I'm dead.

Pretty much.

Then comes the onslaught of Internet warriors who will automatically assume the cop in the right, and you in the wrong. After all, if you weren't doing anything wrong the cop wouldn't have shot you.

[osan]

That would make a great "No Hesitation" target for the Rest-Of-US.

Thread winner, hands down. This is VERY rep-worthy.

Come on folks, pony up.

[tod evans]

Thread winner, hands down. This is VERY rep-worthy.

Come on folks, pony up.

Beat ya' to it..:o

[osan]

Here I am, walking, minding my own business, when all of a sudden an asshole cops yells at me, "respect my authoritah", I turn, I'm dead.

Pretty much nutshells it. Officer Cartman is the most dangerous person in the USA, bar none. I would feel less threatened in the presence of a serial killer.

Avoid police at all cost. Disregard this advice at your peril.

[osan]

Because someone with a toy, or a Cell Phone,, or a TV Remote Is NOT Pointing a GUN at YOU.

Fucking Think.


But... but... global warming... corporations... Fukushima...

[SeanTX]

The only thing that amazes me about this story is that they didn't come out and lie and say that he pointed the toy at them.

I guess they don't have to lie anymore really though, since they can pretty much kill anyone at any time for any reason now. In the old days they had to do things like carry "drop guns" to cover their asses.

And this makes me think of the Army Master Sgt. in Temple, TX who was arrested a while back for "rudely displaying" an AR-15 (he was out hiking with it slung on his shoulder). If it had been Deputy Mean Gene responding he would have put 8 rounds in him the moment he turned around to see who was screaming at him.

Funny thing is , on a gun forum I frequent a lot of the people who think that arrest was wrong have no problem at all with the kid being murdered for the same thing (openly carrying what appears to be an "assault rife").

So the Temple, TX cop could have saved himself a lot of grief by just screaming "drop the weapon!" and then immediately doing a mag dump into him, and most everyone who thought the unlawful arrest was wrong would be okay with that. "Well, the guy was carrying what appeared to be an AR-15 and he didn't immediately comply with the officer's commands -- what was the cop supposed to do?".

[Red Green]

Thread winner, hands down. This is VERY rep-worthy.

Come on folks, pony up.

Thanks osan. I got into it with my dad this weekend about this. He was like "Hey, it looked just like an AK and he pointed it at the officer. The officer had no choice!". I sent him the link to the story with the eyewitness account. I told him this fucking pig murdered a young kid in cold blood. Now are kids aren't even safe out playing cops-and-robbers for fear the pigs are going to gun them down in the streets. Disgusting....

[aGameOfThrones]

There is no more "Cops and Robbers", there is only "Cops and everyone else".

[Red Green]

So against my better judgement, I went over to PoliceOne to see what the pigs had to say about this. Here is a doozy:



As sorry as I am about the death of Andy Lopez, I am thankful no LEO's were injured or killed. Times have changed. People have changed. We cannot assume anything these days, except Murphy's Law...If something can go wrong, it will.

You just can't make this shit up.....

[Philhelm]

So against my better judgement, I went over to PoliceOne to see what the pigs had to say about this. Here is a doozy:

"As sorry as I am about the death of Andy Lopez, I am thankful no LEO's were injured or killed. Times have changed. People have changed. We cannot assume anything these days, except Murphy's Law...If something can go wrong, it will."

You just can't make this shit up.....

Fucking pieces of cum-guzzling shit mongers.

Do we at least have a photo of the exact toy the child had?

[Mani]

So against my better judgement, I went over to PoliceOne to see what the pigs had to say about this. Here is a doozy:



You just can't make this shit up.....


I almost vomitted my breakfast reading this.