Inyo County Sheriff

Yesterday my son was brought home by two officers. The officers were arrogant, condescending, harassing, threatening along with many other words I could come up with. My son was out with a friends BB gun that he bought from him for 4 dollars. My son is 11 years old and even though BB guns are legal I wouldn’t buy him one because the kids in my neighborhood actually shoot at each other with them. My son was going down to the creek to shoot at the sand piles. On the way there (in the neighborhood, which is upper class) he stopped and for some dumb reason pointed the gun at someones house. Remember, he is 11. BB guns are legal to own. He did not know he upset the owners and he doesn’t know who lives there. The owners of the house called the police on him. He was there for a few minutes and then continued to the creek. On his way back from the creek the officers brought him home to our house. The officers told me that he had pointed the gun at the house. I said to my son “so that is what you did with that 4 dollars”. I said to my son “what the hell were you doing pointing the gun at someones house?” he said he was practicing his aim. He definately wasnt doing it maliciously. I told the police that my son wasn’t allowed to have a BB gun and I was trying to tell them how the other rich brats in the neighborhood act and my son just wants to fit in. The police said I was defending my son. I said to them more than 3 times that he was definately going to be punished because he went against me and bought the BB gun from the 8 year old around the block. We are talking about a plastic BB gun which is legal. I agreed that it was stupid for him to point the gun at the house. The police were very condescending toward me, they threatened me 2x that I had to get a lawyer and they were taking me to court. My son didn’t commit a crime. One of the officers asked me what I thought would happen if he took it to school? I said “he isn’t that stupid”. Then I said “well of course he would get suspended”, the officer said NO EXPELLED. What the heck does that have to do with my son going down to the creek by himself and being stupid on the way and pointing the gun at the house? The whole thing was them throwing their weight around and putting me down. They said I was defending him and that is why they were going to take it to court. The whole thing is ridiculous. I was definately upset with my son and he is grounded. But because I did defend him because they were treating me and my son as if he had a 357 magnum in his hand I did defend him as well. The police accused me of lying when I told them that I would never buy him a BB gun because I dont want him involved with the kids in the neighborhood. I went around the block later to find out what happened with my neighbor. My neighbor told me that his son, who is 8 years old, told the police he sold the gun to my son for 4 dollars. The police told my neighbor that they would just “smash the BB gun”. This is wrong. It is not their property to destroy. It is mine and I want it back so I can return it to the neighbor and get the 4 dollars back or I will get rid of it myself. It is my property and it is LEGAL for my son to have it, even though I don’t want him to own one. These police, like alot that I have ever dealt with in Tennessee were nasty. I know that police are there to protect us and that is great but that doesnt give them the right to talk to me like I am a piece of crap and threaten me because they think I am defending my son. I am going down to the Sheriff dept today to get the BB gun back. If I don’t get the gun I am going to file a complaint. I am sick with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, MS and other illnesses.Any stress makes me sicker and this had me totally upset and shaking last night. Today I am in so much pain. If they continue to be “holier than thou” towards me I want to sue them for their ridiculous actions because it is uncalled for and has made me sicker. They have no right to verbally and mentally abuse me then destroy the BB gun when it isnt theirs and it is legal for my son to have one, is it?
To Hey There,
1) You don’t know me
2) You don’t know my son
3) BB guns are legal
4) My illness does not affect how I bring up my children.
5) I stated I wouldn’t buy him a BB gun and HE IS GROUNDED. I AM UPSET AT HOW I WAS TREATED BY THE OFFICERS
6) Your answers and your OCCUPATION show exactly why I am upset and prove my point on how officers can be condescending and say things about a person they don’t even know. Get your head out of the clouds.
To Hey There,
I don’t even know how to give a thumbs down. So its not from me.
You can’t compare the scenario of your real gun, to the BB Gun.

To CH? I can’t remember your exact initials. I live in a very safe subdivision, as I stated above, I would not allow my son to have a BB gun. He went behind my back and got one from a friend. I didn’t know he had it. I am not saying what he did wasn’t wrong, because it is. If you read my entire story, you will see where I stated I agree with the officers and that he is grounded. I do discipline my child and I agree that BB guns shouldnt be legal, but they are. I am a good parent. What I am upset with is the way the police think they can just verbally abuse anyone they want to because they are wearing a uniform. That is what I am upset about. Also, I probably wouldn’t sue but maybe these officers need to be talked to about how to treat people. Their uniforms don’t give them a right to verbally abuse.
To Wut Up Actually I am not mad at anyone, definately not you or Hey There. It is a small plastic thing. You can tell it isn’t real. You are all missing the point. I am upset at the treatment. I agree he shouldnt have done what he did. What do you people do? Read every other sentence?
To ! I am happy to see that you see where I am coming from. My son is in big trouble with me and today when i get the report from the Sheriff’s dept I am going to speak to the Captain. I plan on filing a complaint on the officers. I agree that suing probably isnt the first approach. I am just so upset over how they talked down to me and threatened me. I will see how I am treated today when I go down there and try to have a civil conversation. I dont have enough points to give a thumbs up. This is the second time I have used this thing to ask a question. I am glad there are at least a few people that can be objective and don’t want to blame me when they dont know me.
To Randolph and BCNU…Thank you for all your great information.

In Tennessee, you need to go to the sheriffs dept to get a copy of the police report. They dont fill one out for you in your driveway like they do in other states for car accidents or everything else. I went down there and spoke with the Captain, I told him the whole story before I even saw the report the officer wrote. Too make a long story short, the Captain was not happy that the officer took the BBgun to the dept without the complainant wanting to prosecute. He said that those 2 things go together. We had a great conversation and he thought they had nothing criminal to pursue. When I finally read the report as I was leaving I saw that the officer had outright, blatantly lied about what happened when he came to my home. I went back to the Captain and he told me not to worry that he already knows that the report wasnt filled out truthfully by my statement. He told me not to worry about it. End of Story. For now:)