Damned straight the cops were scared! That the dispatcher didn't pass on the information that the kid might have had a toy gun is totally wrong and might have saved the kid's life.

That picture, if of the object that the child was holding, looks remarkably like a .45 caliber M1911A1 pistol. I wish the magazine was turned over to show a CO₂ cylinder slot if there is one. There is nothing to distinguish it from a real pistol even from the distance from which it is photographed -- no orange barrel, for instance. There might be -- probably is -- information stamped into the side of weapon, but reading it means have the weapon in your hand.

Now, if a grown man who is trained in police work can't overcome a 12 year old the training and the self-control of the officer is seriously questionable.

But then, I knew a military policeman (a non-combat veteran) who drove around with a box of unissued ammunition when on patrol. It was so he'd have "enough ammo for a shootout and I hope I have one before I get out of the Army!" I and others thought he was slightly off but he was one of the darlings of the CO and....

If carrying a gun makes you feel eight feet tall and covered with hair, I don't want to be around you because you'll get us both killed.