So here is a fine example of police response.

On the one hand, you have the police, all they have to go on is “man is brandishing a gun”, and not surprisingly, responded with a 7 squad “descent” according to the news article.

On the other, a boy with a super soaker.

So is the party at fault the officer? The boy? Or the person who called 911? The dispatcher?

In this case, I am in a position to speak with some authority, as I have had an entire police precinct out looking for me with guns drawn, based on a 911 call reporting a “man with a gun”. Mind you this was a holstered weapon, carried openly in keeping with MN state law. Too bad the caller failed to mention that it was in a holster. My neighbor called me describing the person they were looking for, me. I told him to flag one down, and I would be out in 20 seconds. They were polite enough to keep their guns at low ready, as the neighbor said I had a permit, and we cleared matters up in very short order.

So to break this story down, A boy brandishes a large neon squirt gun, and the worst crime I would really accuse him of is distracted driving. Sure, he was being stupid, but not seriously stupid. Someone calls 911 to report the brandishing of a firearm, (which is not a crime in MN – you can get assault with a deadly weapon, public endangerment, and a whole lot else, but there is no brandishing statute). Perhaps this person was legally blind, as at least that would be an excuse.

The dispatcher apparently did not ask questions about the incident, so I would go with poor job performance there. They joys of government employment.

Finally, the responding officers. With the information they were given, a totally appropriate response.

We need to realize that allowing our cities to degrade taxes resources, and then quality of life suffers. Government cannot police us; we must police ourselves, and utilize police as they were intended – as assistance for difficult and extraordinary circumstances.