Florida Police Chief: ‘The gun comes out when you’re ready for deadly force, not threats’

A Florida police chief tells ABC-7 the El Paso Police officer seen in video pointing a gun at a group of children could have de-escalated the situation.

Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri was cautious not to criticize another police officer, but says an officer should never pull a gun on children, even if they are screaming profanities or being belligerent. Capri said officers should have a thick skin and willing to walk away.

ABC-7 shared the video of the El Paso Police officer with Chief Capri, which has gone viral across the country with seven million views and has been shared 70-thousand times.

“I would not have pulled my gun out, personally,” Capri said when he saw the video.

The Daytona Beach Police chief admits there may be other circumstances surrounding the incident, primarily, if someone was armed and the police officer felt his life was in danger.

He pointed out the fact the officer pulled his gun out, pointed it at the kids, then re-holstered the weapon. “You don’t pull out a gun and threaten anybody. We don’t do that. We’re trained not to do that. The gun comes out when you’re ready to use deadly force, and not just to threaten somebody.”

Capri mentioned the use of a de-escalation technique catching on following numerous officer-involved shootings throughout the country. It is called “Integrated Communications and Tactics.”

“It’s kind of a format for having to deal with situations where you don’t have to maybe rush into a situation, and use force, use deadly force when you don’t have to,” said Capri, referring to the technique.

“It requires you to be a thinking police officer. In this job, we have mere seconds to act and react,” Capri added.