Jackson Jambalaya

It's a miracle that ended well. Thanks to the police officers training and nerves of steel, we don't have two dead kids.

Boy, I'd love to hear the audio on that video.

You are SOOOO racist! Did you ever think he needs that BB gun shaped like a real handgun to protect himself from bunny rabbits and squirrels?

BB gun or not, the little prodigies were almost certainly looking for someone to carjack. They look realistic enough it could easily be done. Now they went home, likely received no discipline, and next time will be carrying a real gun. The officer should have shot them. They’ll never be anything more than a drain on society leaching off of the tax payer.

Holy hell, that kid is lucky he isn't dead!

The officer deserves props for keeping his cool.

kids have always carried BB guns and airsoft guns, this isn't a new phenomenon. It's sad to say that this was a great (not a routine) job by the cops as there was no shooting or any deaths. BUT TO SAY that is a lack of concern for the kids to carry an airsoft gun is appalling. This is the big government/ nanny state/ helicopter parents to the max. I carried and shot airsoft guns with my friends all the time. The fact that we have to consider kids being kids to be threats to the community is absolutely wild and saddening.

For the dunce at 3:22...Did you totally miss (or dismiss) the part about the kid moving the firearm in a sweeping motion while pointing it at the officer? How many kids of your generation would have done that? It was at that immediate point that the policemen could have and probably should have discharged his weapon.

Thank you to the officers involved and how you handled this potentially tragic situation. As a black man, if I was on a jury and saw this video of the kid pulling and pointing a gun at the officer and he had shot the child I would have to vote to acquit the officer as I feel that I would have done the same thing. I feel horrible about it and I vow to follow the Chief's plea and use this as a teachable moment. I commit to teach the young men and women in my life to make smarter, more careful and thoughtful decisions in their lives and how they handle themselves. A shooting is tragic for the shooter and the person shot and their families and friends. I will do within my power to reduce them for both sides. Thank you Officers for what you do and try to do everyday.

@3:22

Troll alert !

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. If they would have approached another armed person and tried that, it may not have ended well. I wonder when the media and local activists and politicians step up and applaud the good work of the officer or condemn the kids for being stupid? I'll wait.....

Agree with all the other posters. People who think guns are cool or that they will somehow make them tough are losers. If a police officer runs into someone walking down the street with a gun, they can't expect to go home alive. Pretty dumb of this officer not to protect himself and shoot these kids as soon as he suspected they may be carrying a firearm.

@7:44

If it had been me I would have probably shot the idiot as soon as the gun appeared. Thank goodness this was a veteran officer that has probably seen these kids before and he didn't shoot them. The really sad thing is that if the officer had fired his life would have been forever ruined for taking an action to save his own life. The next idiots that pull a BB or realistic fake pistol will probably not be so lucky. Yes, I'm glad the officer didn't shoot the punks but I would be 100% in support of him if he had. This video should be shown in all schools, elementary to high school, to show other kids just how close these 2 came to getting killed.

Officer should retire immediately.

His reflexes and threat assessment skills are way too dull to be on the streets.

That kid is lucky to be alive.

Very well said, 4:02.

All's well that ends well, but this officer's restraint could have cost him his life.

So many videos just like this one end with an officer down, or dead.

That officer is lucky to be alive an he knows it.

@8:47 PM - Wrong. The event is analyzed by officers in milliseconds, combined with training, experience, and an officer's "sixth sense."

This could have gone either way and would have fallen within the law and guidelines.

I doubt that you have walked in the officers shoes, Mr. internet cop.

Been there, done that, now retired.

Honors to both 4:02 and 8:04.

Cops are underpaid and just as afraid to die as any of us. Rare is the occasion when we can expect the sort of moral courage displayed by this officer. As 4:02 was brave enough to say, most of us don't have the ability to get past the impulse for self-preservation.

It takes courage to avoid the impulse to fire.