Office Paintballers vs. Cops in Modesto, California

[Eleven Mike]

The down-to-earth cop approaches us, no weapon drawn, no Billy Badass shouting orders. Tells us someone saw a "man with a gun," we show him it's airsoft, he goes away. In New Castle County, where I used to live, I'm pretty sure we had the same cop always get called for the "man with a gun" hysteria in our area because after a while he'd just roll by in the patrol car, recognize us, and not even get out.

I don't think you could expect that in a downtown business district. People just don't walk around with guns in plain view in such places. Other than Tejon, of course.

 

[El Tejon]

Not only do we walk around with guns here in plain view. Some of us walked into courthouses with them.

Throughout the mid-90s I used to buy milsurps from a gun shoppe downtown while I worked as a LEO at the county courthouse. I often walked back from lunch with a Swede M96, a P17 or Finnish M-N in my hands and took it up to my office on the fifth floor.

No one cared. I did pose for a pic once for Japanese tourists who were walking around downtown, who knows what is being done with that pic now. Not only did no one care my boss, the CLEO of the county, walked into my office at least twice, looked at my new purchase (only one at a time back then), opened the bolt and threw it up to his shoulder asking me about the weapon.

I now realize that I live in a very different place.

Joke of the Day: What time is it in Indiana? *Looks at watch* 1957!

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

?

"I don't know about you, but I'm not letting anyone fire a projectile at me without eye and face protection, and paintball masks exist for a good reason"

i don't know about you but i don't wear masks in public.was someone shooting in the parking lot at him?or was it like buying my kid a ballerina outfit she wanted to wear it day and nite. but she's 5

 

[ArfinGreebly]

My Son Plays Airsoft

My (college student) son indulges in the occasional airsoft match.

One thing he and his friends came up with to avoid surprise visits by LE is the pre-match phone call.

They call the sheriff's office, tell them there will be six or eight of them playing airsoft, and give the location. They go out to the river for most of that stuff, where there's room to move around and plenty of natural cover and obstacles.

Couple of times they've had visits from the constabulary, just to make sure. They do get calls from people driving by the "arena" area, and the advance notice call allows the dispatcher to assure the caller that everything's cool.

They don't go down in the business district and play there. That would just be asking for trouble.

 

[kungfuhippie]

The longer I live here the more I hate it.

Dumb guys with toy guns + dumb cops in lefty Modesto = dumb thread on THR about who was dumber.

Avoid the very apperance of evil. That mean have fun but don't look like a crook some muggle will see you using your "magic wand" and freak out.

 

[DRZinn]

One thing he and his friends came up with to avoid surprise visits by LE is the pre-match phone call.

They call the sheriff's office, tell them there will be six or eight of them playing airsoft, and give the location. They go out to the river for most of that stuff, where there's room to move around and plenty of natural cover and obstacles.

Couple of times they've had visits from the constabulary, just to make sure. They do get calls from people driving by the "arena" area, and the advance notice call allows the dispatcher to assure the caller that everything's cool.

Sounds like a good way to protect yourslef in case of a real crime.

 

[kungfuhippie]

Quote:
One thing he and his friends came up with to avoid surprise visits by LE is the pre-match phone call.

They call the sheriff's office, tell them there will be six or eight of them playing airsoft, and give the location. They go out to the river for most of that stuff, where there's room to move around and plenty of natural cover and obstacles.

Couple of times they've had visits from the constabulary, just to make sure. They do get calls from people driving by the "arena" area, and the advance notice call allows the dispatcher to assure the caller that everything's cool.

Sounds like a good way to protect yourslef in case of a real crime.

phone call to local PD,
"Hello, yes, I just want to say that my friends and I will be playing firing squad out by johnson's place today. So if anyone calls about shots fired or people with guns, it's okay, it'll just be us... and we'll only be playing."

 

[farlander]

Kids shouldn't play with replica guns. They should be trained to use real guns.
- El Tejon

Amen.

When I worked as an airplane wrench at an International airport we used to get in some very big fights with airsofts in the hangar until the boss got tired of tracking around the pellets in the tread of his shoes. BTW, black lights and auto airsofts with glow in the dark BB's, VERY COOL!!! Where I worked it wasn't uncommon for someone to have their gun at work cleaning it or show and tell whatever. My first experience with an M60 was in that hangar (didn't get to shoot it though). The owner bought a Romanian AK just because he saw the owners pamplet for mine and thought it looked cool. He had 10,000 rounds of 30.06 shipped there once. Good place to work. I would probably still be there if the owner hadn't died of cancer. He didn't care what we carried in the planes so long as he got to look at it in case he wanted one. It wasn't to uncommon to see spent cases rolling around in the back of a bird where one of the pilots had collected his brass after shooting out of town and it got loose.

 

[razorburn]

For those of you whining about the police, had it have been real, would you
still ask if they should "call ahead" ? If people were killed due to delays would
you whine about that as well ?

Yeah. Of course. Even if it was real, they wouldn't necessarily have been breaking the law. It's not against the law here to play with your real guns here, on your private property. It's not against the law to walk from your car holding your real gun ieither. It's californian fear of guns at work here.

The police did nothing wrong. These "players" should have their toys
taken away and spend about 90 days picking up trash on the roadside.

No sympathy for those arrested.

Nobody was arrested or charged with anything. This was a simple misunderstanding, which they'll look back on and laugh about later. Some folks are blowing it out of proportion, I think.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

I'm glad I grew up in in the 50's & 60's. No telling what the police would do noadays with a band of 20-40 7-12 year olds running around with 2-3 toy guns apeice and firing caps with all that "realistic" noise and smoke. As I told my 20 year old son when I was a kid we had all the fun and nobody freaked out. Of course if somebody did get really out of line, we wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week or more. Now parental discipline can get you thrown in jail. Of course in those days parents believed in parental responsibility rather than just blaming the governnment or somebody else. A lot of people today just don't take responsibilty for their actions or their childrens actions. Just this is the main reason of what goes on today. There is just not enough of those who do to overcome those who don't.

 

[mindwip]

How much intellect does it take to figure out that this could cause a problem?

Alot, about the amout a anti-gun has, last time i looked, i can play with airsoft guns in my place of business.

 

[Eleven Mike]

last time i looked, i can play with airsoft guns in my place of business.

Yes, but someone saw a man with a gun OUT ON THE STREET. Do what you want, but if people think someone is robbing you, they'll probably call the cops.

 

[kungfuhippie]

yeah I mean it could be another Scott Pedersen! What happened to America that now a masked gunman in downtown causes alarm

 

[mindwip]

I am sorry but in no place in the artical does it say he is walking down the street with a gun.

Yes, but someone saw a man with a gun OUT ON THE STREET.

He said he looked through the business's glass front and saw a man holding what appeared to be an assault rifle to his shoulder and aiming it inside the business.

he saw gun through the window

For unknown reasons, he put on a dark-colored mask when he left the building.

There was no gun. Also running down the street and walking to your car are two different things.

It only says that the person who reported them running down the street. And after reading 3 more articals on this news story in none of them does it say they were on the street. Just becuase someone reports it does not mean its true. I had the cops called on me for a drug deal, when i was putting my spare tire/car jack away after i used it on a friends car. I had one helicopter and 4 cop cars up my butt. All becuase someone swore they saw a drug deal. O and we were drinking to.

 

[kungfuhippie]

Read better everyone please!

a passer-by called 911 at 8:39 a.m. and reported seeing a man with a mask and a gun running on the street, Sgt. Craig Gundlach said.

the guy was on the street with a "gun" and a mask on.

10 minutes later the first cop on the scene, Officer Garcia, was looking through the window not the passer-by,

Officer Jesse Garcia approached the business at 8:49a.m. He said he looked through the business's glass front and saw a man holding what appeared to be an assault rifle to his shoulder and aiming it inside the business.

Not trying to point fingers, but please read the OP well, I don't care if you skip the replys but I'm sick of people unjustly calling all us Golden Staters wackos because they can't comprehend a newspaper article written at a third grade level.:banghead:

 

[mindwip]

please read this

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16180573/

In no place does it say anyone was running down the streets, the cops never said they were. The guys never said they were. It clearly says they were in there office. There was just a window.

I am sorry but a "reported seeing" is not a fact. It is what someone says they saw, what the police said they heard, what the media man wrote in his artical. It is a "reported seeing" this just means its what the guy took it as not what happened. In the artical the police do NOT say they were out side. And the guys them self dont say they were out side with a gun. Sorry but i know how to read what is true in an artical and what is only said to of happened, but not fact.

 

[Eleven Mike]

He said he looked through the business's glass front and saw a man holding what appeared to be an assault rifle to his shoulder and aiming it inside the business.

I thought this meant that someone was looking out of their own window, and saw a man on the street, aiming a gun into another building. But I guess your interpretation makes more sense. Still, if people see suspicious things, it's only neighborly to call the cops.

 

[mindwip]

I think the cops handled it just fine, for what was reported. No-one was shot or arrested, thats what matters. If i saw a guy with a gun i would call the cops too, if he was out on the street walking around. But at the same time if i saw 4 guys with guns, aiming them at each other i would think it was something like paintball/airsoft and leave it at that. Also if it looks like hes heding to his car i would think nothing of it. I have brought my guns(real/paintball) to work to show others and would understand. But i do try to cover them as i dont want the cops called.

 

[kungfuhippie]

MODESTO, Calif. - Four men wielding guns became a frightening scenario Tuesday in Modesto. After police arrived in full force, officers quickly discovered the men were playing a game of soldier with toy guns. "We weren't waving them around. We weren't pointing them at people on the street," suspect Greg Adams said. The engineering coworkers say they were blowing off some steam when they were spotted and police were called. A growing demand for Airsoft guns has officers worried that similar situations will become a common trend. "If that subject came out with an AR-15 and did not immediately comply with officers orders we would have shot at that suspect," Modesto Police Spokesman Craig Gundlach said.

Many of the Airsoft guns look so real the federal government requires them to have an orange tip on the barrel. Airsoft enthusiasts said the Modesto incident gives their sport a bad name. "Everyone that plays this realizes this is a game and they're not going to be running around the streets of Sacramento with these type of weapons," Nick Stroiney said.

Playing with toy guns at work is something the Modesto four regret. "We won't be doing this again," Adams said. "We will go back to shooting rubber bands at each other." None of the men were charged with a crime.

Wow that wasn't biased at all:bangheadyou've got to love reporters ) No details were given only that some guys were "wielding guns" and that they were lucky they wern't shot. yet no mention of the bystandard sighting them inside the buisness or outside the buisness, running or walking. The story does not contradict the OP.

according to http://www.kcra.com/news/10518690/detail.html?rss=sac&psp=news

Police said the initial report at 8:40 a.m. was followed by additional reports of multiple people with guns in the area of 14th and K streets.....Authorities said they hope the men learned a valuable lesson about playing out in the open with fake guns.

So multiple people reported people with guns in the area, maybe not running around, haven't confirmed yet, but it is very obvious that they wern't being descrete. And it wasn't a nosey person looking through the window.

and yes the cops did great, a report of guys running around with guns in downtown deserves cops responding.

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

as alot of THR folks say it's better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6. per the news reports, some citizen called in a man with a gun. the cops show up to investigate and see someone that looks to have a real gun and pointing it at something or someone inside a building.

so what are you supposed to do? assume it IS airsoft? or assume it ISN'T airsoft?

i dont think the officers responded inappropriately. it has nothing to do with being in California. i can guarantee you if the cops got a call of the same nature anywhere in the U.S. it would have unfolded similarly.

there are numerous accounts in the media where a disgruntled person came to a workplace and shot it up. if i recall correctly, it happened a few days ago in Chicago. i think many THR members would be grilling Chicago PD if they responded to this call thinking it was a bunch of guys playing airsoft in their office building. granted the situation was different, the jerk had already started shooting. the bottom line is, you can't fault the officers for reacting the way they did based upon the information they were given. if you don't agree, then put yourself in the situation where the converse is true. you as an officer respond to a man with a gun call, thinking it is airsoft, and get shot. which would you prefer?

i really have to question the people who think they'd respond to a man with a gun call, thinking that it is probably airsoft. that is not a realistic expectation.

 

[toecutter]

For those of you whining about the police, had it have been real, would you
still ask if they should "call ahead" ? If people were killed due to delays would
you whine about that as well ?

The problem is, they didn't do a damn thing. If there was a bloodbath going on inside, they sure did a lousy job of stopping it. Why didn't they just start shooting at the building to see if they could add to the chaos.

All this is proof once again that all it takes to ruin any kind of fun is Mrs Kravitz, and an overzealous police dept.

Since the police took no action except set the scene for a huge gun battle, I can only assume that's what they were looking for, giving themselves an upper-hand in the coming firefight. And I'm sure things turning out to be nothing was a huge disappointment for them.

The day the cops solve any of the various property crimes I've suffered over the last few years when I provided compelling evidence as to who the perpetrators were (hit and run, and HAD the guys license plate, not the number, THE ACTUAL PLATE) is the day you can tell me they have the public good in thier interest. Until then, you can't even pretend that they do a damn thing short of looking to goose step around and look for sensational violence to put themselves in a good light.

 

[Spreadfire Arms]

toecutter,

cmon now. you think that its the duty of a single officer who had just arrived at the scene to engage a possible bad guy, armed with a rifle, when backup is on the way?

that's bravado and recklessness. nobody in their right mind is going to take on a guy armed with a rifle when you only have a pistol unless you absolutely have to. it is sheer recklessness to do so when you don't have to.

and you're mad at them because they didn't solve a hit-and-run? a license plate is a good starting point, but if you read the California Vehicle Code, Section 20002, you'll see what the elements are for that crime. you have to put the suspect behind the wheel. just because your car was used in a hit-and-run (misdemeanor at that since nobody got hurt) doesn't make you automatically guilty. if the cops only had a license plate, they can develop a suspect but that doesn't mean they can automatically get a warrant issued. no way a judge or D.A. is going to issue a warrant for the registered owner of the vehicle unless there is corroborating evidence.

sounds like you're a little sore at the cops, but to say that they erred because they didn't inject themselves into a perceived gun battle is a little off-kilter.

 

[Modesto]

One of the 4 er.... 5

In light of the discussion that has taken place I can see that most of are in support of the fun that took place "IN SIDE OF" our business.

Yes I was one of the 5 guys playing air soft inside of our business. I can honestly say that at no time was anyone in danger. And none of us were carring on outside in view of the public.

At one point in the mist of office battle we ganged up on one person, the guy wearing the piant ball safety mask who ran out the front to the back door but decided better to come back into the front door.

I was the person who was seen by the officer with AIR SOFT assault rifle. By the way I am a US Veteran who is not a convicted felon and can legally purchase, own a REAL rifle if I so choose to exersice my right. When I was seen I had the AIR SOFT rifle pointing at the wall .... Away from anyone .... SAFETY FIRST Boys and Girls.

When the police force arrive on the scene we had no idea that they were there for us and we had caused such an uproar. We cooperated with the MPD every command and question when we realized that they were outside.

The phone calls to the office by the police were not received as we, on our own accord walked outside and probably supprised the MPD.

I know that I have opened myself up to numerous rebukes and derogitory comments, but I want the whole truth to be understood. I do not condone painting the tips of toy guns black...by the way there were 3 pistols in the building that were not mentioned in the new reports as well that still had the factory orange tip and the air soft assault rifle was borrowed and did not belong to any of us.

We will continue to have fun in our office, probably with a lot less police activity in the future.

 

[kungfuhippie]

Well now, that's nice to hear SO the media wasn't too crazy, and there was a person running "with a gun" that someone called in. Did he have the all black rifle?

See just a few nor-cal hippies can ruin everyones day

I'm going to the range, with a real gun, but no mask

 

[Modesto]

Correction

And we wonder where all the misconception comes from....I did not say he had a gun nor did I say he was running around. He had a idea then thought better of it. But to be clear, the gun was not visible to anyone .... it was a clear - orange tipped air soft pistol by the way. The air soft assault rifle never left the building until MPD removed it with our permission.