Did deputy in toy gun killing ID himself? He can't recall if he did.
The Sonoma County sheriff's deputy who fatally shot a 13-year-old boy after mistaking his toy AK-47 for a real rifle told investigators afterward that he did not recall whether he identified himself as a law-enforcement officer before opening fire, a police official said Wednesday.
Lt. Paul Henry of the Santa Rosa Police Department, which is leading the probe into the Oct. 22 killing of eighth-grader Andy Lopez Cruz, released more information as protesters continued to take to the streets calling for charges to be filed against Deputy Erick Gelhaus.
Also Wednesday, an attorney for Gelhaus spoke for the first time, saying the deputy "feels for the loss of life" but had responded properly to a threat. Gelhaus "absolutely believed it was a real AK-47 and absolutely feared for his life" before firing, said attorney Terry Leoni.
When he encountered the boy, Gelhaus was in the passenger seat of a marked patrol car driven by a newly hired deputy he was training. The car pulled behind Andy, police said, as he carried a plastic air rifle in his left hand near his home just outside Santa Rosa. The boy wore shorts and a blue sweatshirt with the hood down.
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Did-deputy-in-toy-gun-killing-ID-himself-4939742.php
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