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Posted by: kwflatbed

LaNIA COLEMAN
THE SAGINAW NEWS

A Saginaw 13-year-old was holding a gun to a female police officer's head and vowing to kill her Tuesday when another officer opened fire on the teen, police officials say.

The 4 p.m. incident on the city's West Side shocked neighbors and left the female officer badly shaken, the teen gunman apologizing to his mother and a police chief defending the shooting as self-defense in the face of a deadly threat.

"When a gun is fired in your direction, it doesn't matter if the finger on the trigger is 13 or 31," Saginaw Police Chief Gerald H. Cliff said today. "You're still just as dead."

Struck once in the abdomen, the youth, whom The Saginaw News is not naming because he is a juvenile, is expected to recover. Both patrol officers, whom police would not name, were uninjured, officials said.

The police duo will perform administrative duties upon their return to work Monday. The Saginaw County Sheriff's Department will handle the investigation, Cliff said.

"I wanted to ensure the public of an impartial investigation," Cliff said.

Police officials said the female officer had approached the teen in a West Side neighborhood just before 4 p.m. because he matched the description of a man roaming streets and threatening people with a silver handgun.

When she got close, the youth pulled a silver handgun from his waistband. Rather than shooting, the officer tried to disarm the teen --a move that backfired, police officials said.

When a second officer arrived on scene, at Hayes and North Webster, he found the teen holding the gun barrel to the female officer's head, police officials said.

As the second officer approached and ordered the teen to drop the gun, the 13-year-old replied he would shoot the female officer if the second officer got any closer, police officials said.

That's when the second officer opened fire, said police officials, who were speaking anonymously because department policy bars discussing details of such cases before investigations are complete.

Cliff, meantime, said detectives likely will seek a warrant charging the teen with assaulting two officers.

A 52-year-old Saginaw man who was working on his truck in an alley a half-block away said he noticed nothing out of the ordinary until he heard the blast and smelled the tell-tale odor of gunpowder.

He was among dozens of residents who gathered in the streets to speculate about the officers' actions and the teen's behavior.

Although they didn't savor the notion of youths with guns, many neighbors say they're also uncomfortable with an officer shooting a child, even though the teen was armed.

"Where did this kid get the gun in the first place?" wondered Sylvia Rodriguez. "Kids with guns ... that's scary. But the police, they have to aim to disarm, not kill. This is too much drama."

Many said they'd reserve judgment until they learn more about the circumstances that led the veteran officer to shoot the teen.

Doctors at Covenant Medical Center are treating the teen, an eighth-grader at Ricker Middle School in Buena Vista Township.

A police union representative was to meet with the officers when they gave statements to Sheriff's Department investigators, he said.

"Based on the information we have, which is very preliminary, the shooting appears very justifiable," Cliff said.

The chief said his department has received some criticism for the officers' actions because of the youth's age. Much of the censure has come from the teen's family.

"He's not a killer," said the teen's mother, Oralia Donald. "Regardless of what he was doing, he's a child."

Donald said she spoke briefly with her son before police directed her to leave.

"Who are they to tell me that his father and I can't be there for him?" Donald said. "There are some things you don't do, and one is to nearly take a child's life then deny him his parents.

"He said, 'Momma, I'm sorry.' I told him it'll be all right. He's my baby and I love him. I will always be there for him, no matter what. I thank God that he didn't harm an officer. But if he had, I would still be there for him."

Donald said the shooting nearly brought her worst nightmare to life.

"My greatest fear is losing my babies to the streets or the penitentiary," she said, vowing that her son's brush with death will serve as a turning point in his young life.

Donald did not say where her son likely got the gun. She did not know where he was going when he encountered police.

The incident marked the second time in three weeks that police have stretched yellow tape around the corner situated about eight blocks from the Saginaw County Governmental Center, home of the courthouse, Sheriff's Department and jail. It is also about the same distance from the home of Saginaw's mayor, Carol B. Cottrell.

March 15, a shootout and brief stand-off ended with two men behind bars and two men injured.

James E. Thomas, 18, and Dennis W. Cotton Jr., 19, remain jailed as they wait to have preliminary hearings on a variety of charges including assault with intent to commit murder. The wounded men, 30 and 16, also could face charges.

Saginaw police have not had an officer-involved shooting since July 19, 2001, when two officers wounded a 20-year-old Bridgeport Township man they believed shot another man during a "pub crawl" in Old Saginaw City.

Police said the suspect shot a 25-year-old Saginaw man outside the Mirage bar, then fired upon police during a short foot chase. A state police investigation cleared the officers of any wrongdoing. v

LaNia Coleman covers law enforcement for The Saginaw News. You may reach her at 776-9690.

Posted by: lofu

I can only hope that all of these stories do not cause some cop somewhere to hesitate in a similar situation.

His mother says that he is not a killer. Then why is he running around threatening people with a gun and holding it to the head of a police officer? It sounds bad but maybe some future problems could have been avoided had the kid not made it.

Posted by: RPD931

I understand that a Parent's love is always there. But parents need to face the facts and put up some tough love. Moms/Dads should be saying things like "He's my son, I love and we'll get through this." or "I don't know why it happened". They always go right to the basic though "Not my child, he/she wouldn't hurt a fly.." And they still say this after they know their kid has an assaultive history. Yes, Mom is right, Junior didn't really punch you in the face the night you called 911. No, he didn't have drugs in his system even though toxicolgy report say otherwise - the Police are just lying. There's no way my daughter would drink and drive - even though there was alcohol in her system and she was found behind the wheel. My son doesn't deal drugs, he said he was just holding it for his friend and I believe him - well, then you're a moron too.

Posted by: USMCTrooper

Quote:

"Where did this kid get the gun in the first place?" wondered Sylvia Rodriguez. "Kids with guns ... that's scary. But the police, they have to aim to disarm, not kill. This is too much drama."

If I'm not mistake he is alive right? Well then they did disarm him and nobody died. Too much drama? This is reality! Drama is why Law & Order, CSI and 24 are the top rated shows in America. What would she have the police do next time, pat him on the head and give him a cookie?!?!?

Posted by: mtc

Mommy suffers from severe headupass.

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