Replica BB gun leads to police encounter that’s questioned by teen’s family
ARVADA, Colo. (KDVR) — Four teens were briefly detained in Arvada last week after an officer spotted what he thought was a real gun in their vehicle, and now a family is questioning the police response.
Police say they were called to a house party last week on a report of a large fight among dozens of young people. Shyanne Cruickshank said she and a group of friends were preparing to leave the party when a police officer approached them.
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The 17-year-old said the officer pulled up to their vehicle and flashed a light through the window.
“He immediately pulled out his gun and was like, telling us he would ‘end us,'” Shyanne told FOX31.
The police sergeant appeared to believe the object in the front seat was a weapon.
“We were screaming it was a BB gun, not a real gun …. Next thing, we’re staring at the barrel of his gun,” she said.
Shyanne said the interaction with Arvada police officers lasted about an hour. The four young people in the car were ordered out, briefly handcuffed and eventually released.
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The Arvada Police Department released this statement about the incident:
“We are aware of the concerns in this case and are in contact with the parents of the juveniles. On June 7th at 11 pm, concerned community members called the police about a large physical fight involving 30 to 50 people in the 6600 block of Depew St. Officers were told there was a gun involved by parties on the scene. A replica gun was recovered. No charges have been filed at this time.”
Arvada Police Department
The department also sent FOX31 photos of the front seat of the vehicle and what they referred to as a “replica gun.” They confirmed to FOX31 that the replica gun found in the vehicle was the same one they recovered that night.
The teen’s father, Randy Cruickshank, said the video shows “it was this close from something bad happening.”
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“There’s a whole lot of police officers that would have handled that a whole lot better,” he said.
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