Harmless Objects Mistaken for Guns by Police

Clogged toilets cause terror, but do not call the police.One plumber in California faced trouble.That is what happened. A plumber responded to a Mission Viejo mall in March 2017 when someone mistook his plunger for a gun.

Police locked down the mall and investigated. The "rifle" was a plunger; the "shooter" was a plumber.

An office building in central Pennsylvania evacuated after someone called police on a photographer. A citizen saw the photographer's tripod and mistook it for a machine gun. Police searched the building floor-by-floor until they found the picture-taker.

In March 2013, 13 cops chased a car. They fired 137 bullets at an unarmed Cleveland woman and the car's male driver because they thought she was reaching for a gun. She was reaching for a slice of pizza. Both people died.

Six officers faced charges. One officer got so involved in the pursuit she lost control. Another officer sat in a car at the scene reading a book for 20 minutes. Demotions and suspensions happened, but no officers faced prosecution for the deaths.

Holy smokes!Mark Venuti, a 36-year-old...A New Jersey man died in 2002. He charged two officers after they entered his home. Police claimed he held a “dark object” over his head, which they thought was a gun. The object was actually a copy of the Bible.

Venuti's death later became a suicide-by-cop. Still, the Bible does not look like a gun.

Bad grooming habits can kill people these days. In November 2007, New York City police fired dozens of rounds at a mentally ill teen who brandished what they thought was a gun.An officer told the youth to put up his hands. When the youth did, he dropped the hairbrush, and the shooting started.

Investigators realized it was only a hairbrush by the time they figured out. The 18-year-old...Khiel CoppinHe was already dead.

Six minutes after buying a sandwich at the Shaw Market in St. Louis, 18-year-old Vonderrit Myers, Jr. died. An off-duty policeman claimed Myers fired at him, so he unloaded 17 rounds into his face and legs. A gun was found at the scene, but it was jammed and could not fire. It was unclear if Myers handled it. Said...Berhe Beyent, the store manager, said, “Like six minutes after I sold him a sandwich, he got shot. ... He wasn't armed when he was here.”

A 17-year-old was shot in the doorway of his Georgia home in February 2014. An officer thought his Wii controller was a gun.

Christopher Roupe,A member of his high school's ROTC program planned to become a Marine after graduation. He heard a knock at his family's door and asked who was there. He still held the game controller when he received no answer.He opened the door and the officers shot him point blank in the chest. Officers were there to carry out a violation warrant against the boy's father. A grand jury asked for charges against the female officer for excessive and unnecessary force, but no charges were filed in the teen's death.

In a shocking case of overkill, plain-clothes New York City cops fatally shot 22-year-old Amadou Diallo in 1999. Diallo pulled his wallet from his jacket. Assuming it was a gun, officers fired 41 bullets into the vestibule of his Bronx apartment complex.

Heed the warning: "Don't go out after dark." 60-year-old Florida resident Roy Middleton planned a night drive but ended up in an ambulance. Police suspected Middleton stole his own car from his driveway. Police claim he lunged with a weapon, but Middleton only held a flashlight and his car keys, not a gun. Middleton survived 15 police shots.

Officer Mark Rine shot 34-year-old Rumain Brisbon, a father of three, twice in the torso in front of an apartment complex in Phoenix, AZ, on December 2, 2014. Rine felt what he thought was a gun in Brisbon's pocket and fired twice. The object was a prescription bottle of oxycodone, causing a painful death.Prosecutors found the officer justified in using deadly force.

Takethat, old man! 70-year-old disabled Vietnam War veteran Bobby Canipe was pulled over in Clover, SC for an expired license plate tag. Canipe needed a cane to walk and reached for it as he exited his car. 24-year-old deputy sheriff Terrance Knox opened fire, thinking he was armed with a gun.Knox fired six shots; one hit Canipe in the chest, injuring him.

Charges did not file against Knox because he acted appropriately and feared for his life.Sheriff Bruce Bryant said, "You do not exit your vehicle and go meet the police officer." "You do not do that. There is no law against it—you can—but the police officer will give you strict orders."

A guy just can't win: either the grass dies, oryoudo. 35-year-old Douglas Zerby died after Long Beach police shot him because they mistook a water hose nozzle he held for a handgun.A district attorney's report shows the officers did not try to identify themselves to Zerby nor did they tell him to drop his weapon.An autopsy showed Zerby took 12 shots.Police recovered a black pistol-grip water nozzle with a metal tip at the scene. Officers reported Zerby "held the object close to his side, waving it around." This mimics how a person waters a lawn.A black pistol-grip water nozzle with a metal tip was recovered at the scene.This item is a hose and a spray nozzle. Police mistakenly classified this object as a gun.

Zerby's family received an award.Officers faced a civil suit for $6.5 million in damages because they were negligent in his death, though no criminal charges were filed.

39-year-old Corey Lewis was shot by police in a sad case of "its raining bullets."Okotoks, Calgary, Canada. Constables arrived at the Lewis home after a charge: Lewis had fought with his stepson and assaulted him. Authorities...Officers fired six shots from an M-16 long-barreled rifle after Lewis left the house. Lewis crouched on one knee and raised what seemed like a gun; it was actually a dark-colored umbrella.

Someone shoots you for holding a bottle of beer! This happened to 18-year-old Louis Jiles from Springfield, MA. Jiles partied too hard and ran a red light with an open beer bottle. Fearing a DUI, Jiles evaded police until he stopped. He tried to throw the bottle out the window, and police opened fire, shooting him in the wrist.

No criminal charges resulted. Jiles admitted his choices were bad. However, this shows how fear over a small thing can misinterpret things. The jury awarded Jiles a civil suit because the officers were negligent.

In Nashville, TN, officer Joe Shelton chased 40-year-old suspect Reginald Dewayne Wallace after a burglary call. Shelton grabbed Wallace, and they struggled. Wallace pulled out a shiny object from his pocket. Shelton fired three times, thinking it was a weapon. The object was a silver iPod. This changes the meaning of "killer tunes, man!"

Wallace was not the first man officer Shelton killed. In 2007, he...Wallace also fatally shot an 18-year-old robbery suspect.

Los Angeles police motorcycle officers pulled over Julio Perez in 2008 for a traffic violation. After talking to Perez, he drove off, starting a chase. 25-year-old Byron San Jose rode in the back and jumped out as the car slowed, avoiding the chase. San Jose walked toward officers holding a "black metal object." One officer hit San Jose with his motorcycle's front. The other officer fired several shots, killing San Jose. The aspiring rapper carried a two-foot-long microphone stand.

San Jose's family later sued the LAPD for excessive force, seeking $750,000 in damages. The family lost the suit in November 2010.

A Maine man faced danger when a SWAT team and police entered his home in assault gear, believing he brandished a handgun. Michael Smith only had a tattoo.The tattoo was of a gun in the area where a holster would be.Michael Smith walked around shirtless on a warm day, exposing his tattoo because he was determined to appear armed and dangerous. No one got hurt.

Smith acted like he was armed and dangerous on a hot day while walking shirtless; his tattoo showed. No one got hurt.

Florida mall and several nearby schools on lockdown in November 2014. This happened after police saw a suspicious man with a handgun. Closer inspection showed the threat was a waiter carrying a crumpled apron.In November 2014, the Florida mall and nearby schools locked down after a man appeared to carry a handgun. A waiter carrying a crumpled apron was the actual threat.

Police officers across the U.S. shot several unarmed men after they reached into their pockets for, or simply had, their cellphones.We all know driving can cause death, but the car usually does, not the license. Levar Jones stopped at a convenience store to pump gas. Asked by South Carolina State Trooper Sean Groubert for his license, Jones exited his car. Jones turned back to the car to comply. Groubert then shouted and fired shots at Jones as soon as he reached into his car. Jones survived the injuries.

Groubert lost his job and faced charges for grave assault and battery. He could get up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.Police approached 19-year-old Kendrec McDade in Pasedena, CA, as a robbery suspect. McDade ran, holding his right pocket. Police believed he held a gun and shot him seven times; it was only his cellphone. In depositions, both officers stated they never told McDade to stop and raise his hands, nor did they warn or command before shooting and killing him. Both officers avoided charges.

Driving can cause death, but the car usually does, not the license.Levar Jones got out of his car to pump gas at a convenience store. South Carolina State Trooper Sean Groubert asked Jones to get his license for seat belt law violation. Jones turned back toward his car to comply. Groubert then shouted and fired shots at Jones as soon as Jones reached into his car. Jones survived the injuries.

Groubert lost his job and faced charges for serious assault and battery. A conviction could mean up to 20 years in prison.