The boy was taken into custody for brandishing a replica firearm in the presence of a peace officer. There were no injuries and he was later released on a citation to the custody of his parents.Sgt. Marshall said the incident highlights the dangers of carrying even a replica firearm: “If this young man had not stopped prior to pulling the weapon from his waistband, the consequences could have been tragic. As it was, Officer Coffelt is to be commended for placing his own life at risk and taking the time to allow the youth to comply with his orders.”The incident and behavior of the boy also placed others at risk, Sgt. Marshall added, as there was a T-ball game being held immediately adjacent to the incident.“It really was a close call,” said SPPD Commander Mark Trimble. “Officer Coffelt did a good job that goes back to our training. Dave Manning, our range master, puts us in the most difficult situations imaginable, so when faced with something like this it’s been there, done that. That’s why Officer Coffelt did not use deadly force when really it would have been justified.”Sgt. Marshall is writing a letter of commendation lauding Officer Coffelt’s actions that “averted what would have been tragic but justified,” said Cmdr. Trimble.
Officer Coffelt averts tragedy when boy goes for replica gun
May 21, 2003
Santa Paula News
A Santa Paula police officer’s quick and professional action in a standoff with a 15-year-old boy who went for a gun led to the incident ending without tragedy when it was discovered that the weapon was a replica, according to a SPPD spokesman.
According to SPPD Sgt. Gary Marshall, the incident occurred May 12th at about 8 p.m. when Officer John Coffelt was patrolling the parking lot of Harding Park’s baseball fields and was approached by a “concerned citizen.”
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesA Santa Paula police officer’s quick and professional action in a standoff with a 15-year-old boy who went for a gun led to the incident ending without tragedy when it was discovered that the weapon was a replica, according to a SPPD spokesman.According to SPPD Sgt. Gary Marshall, the incident occurred May 12th at about 8 p.m. when Officer John Coffelt was patrolling the parking lot of Harding Park’s baseball fields and was approached by a “concerned citizen.”The citizens told Officer Coffelt that a “young man in the area possibly had a gun in his waistband and Officer Coffelt made contact with that individual.”When Officer Coffelt told the subject that he wanted to speak with him, the “subject pulled his sweatshirt up with left hand and grabbed the butt of what appeared to be a handgun with his right hand,” said Sgt. Marshall. “Officer Coffelt drew his weapon and ordered the subject into the prone position.”The boy dropped to the ground as ordered and once additional officers arrived on scene it was determined that the pistol was “actually a replica that fires a soft projectile similar to police training weapons.”Sgt. Marshall noted that pistol is indistinguishable from an automatic handgun, except upon close examination, the “only visible difference being an orange ring around the tip of the barrel. . .the magazine even ejects as in a real firearm.”
