Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT COOPERATING WITH THE INVESTIGATION. URBANDALE POLICE TOLD KCCI THEY WILL RELEASE MORE INFORMATION TOMORROW. STEVE: DRAMATIC BODY CAMERA VIDEO SHOWS THE DECISIVE MOMENT AN INCIDENT COULD HAVE TURNED DEADLY. STACEY: A TEENAGER AIMED A GU AT A DES MOINES POLICE OFFICER. KCCI’S HANNAH HILYARD IS LIVE AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. STEVE: IT LOOKED REAL, DIDN’T IT HANNAH? BUT IT WAS A TOY. >> IT SURE DID. POLICE HAVE TO MAKE LIFE OR DEATH DECISIONS IN A SPLIT SECOND. THIS ONE ENDED OK. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO GUNS IT’S HARD TO TELL WHAT’S REAL, AND WHAT’S NOT. SEVERAL REPORTS OF A TEEN WITH A PISTOL. THE SITUATION UNFOLDED QUICKLY FOR OFFICER ANDREW WEISPFENNING BACK IN SEPTEMBER. >> DROP IT. BACK AWAY FROM THAT. >> WE’VE PUT THE VIDEO SIDE-BY-SIDE. ON THE LEFT IS THE OFFICER’S DASH CAM VIDEO, ON THE RIGHT IS THE HIS BODY CAMERA VIDEO. >> HE DRAWS HIS WEAPON AND HE WATCHES AS THIS KID POINTS THAT GUN DIRECTLY AT HIM. >> THE KID AIMS RIGHT BACK. THIS ONE ENDS, PEACEFULLY THE TEENAGER DOES EVENTUALLY DROP IT AND THE OFFICER, PUTS HIS AWAY >> FOR WHATEVER REASON, THAT OFFICER WAS COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THAT MOMENT, RISKED HIS OWN LIFE NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND CHOSE NOT TO SHOOT. >> IT ALL HAPPENS IN A MATTER OF SECONDS AND DES MOINES POLICE SGT. PAUL PARIZEK SAYS IT COULD HAVE ENDED MUCH DIFFERENTLY. >> IF AN OFFICER WOULD HAVE FIRED ON THAT KID, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED. >> THAT’S A DECISION THAT A POLICE MAN HAS TO MAKE WHEN HE’S UNDER TREMENDOUS STRESS. >> MIKE SPORER IS THE OWNER OF THE JLM GUN SHOPPE IN URBANDALE. HE SAYS BB OR PELLET GUNS LOOK INCREDIBLY REALISTIC. >> THEY LOOK EXACTLY LIKE A REAL GUN. YOU CAN’T TELL THE DIFFERENCE FROM DISTANCE. >> YOU CANNOT FIRE THOSE IN CITY LIMITS. THERE ARE NO ORDINANCES AGAINST TOY GUNS WHICH PARIZEK SAYS LOOKS JUST AS REAL. >> THERE’S NOT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE AND THE GUN THAT IS HANGING ON MY HIP RIGHT NOW. >> BUT A LAW, WOULDN’T FIX THE OVERALL PROBLEM. >> WE REALLY NEED TO BE LOOKING AT WHAT MAKES THESE KIDS THINK THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE A TOY GUN TO GIVE THEM THE IMPRESSION TH THEY ARE ARMED WITH A FIREARM. >> THE OFFICER IN THE VIDEO NO LONGER WITH THE DEPARTMEN AND HE HAS PURSUED OTHER OPPORTUNITIES. THE TEEN WAS NOT CHARGE IN THIS INCIDENT.

Advertisement Video shows tense moment teen aims toy gun at DSM officer Officer Andrew Wiespfenning chooses not to respond with deadly force Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Recently released body camera footage shows the tense moment a teenager aims what initially appears to be a handgun toward a Des Moines police officer, but the incident ends peacefully.The dilemma sheds light on an issue in which law enforcement authorities are forced to make life-or-death decisions in a split second.The situation, which happened Sept. 3 in the 4000 block of Douglas Avenue, unfolded quickly as Officer Andrew Wiespfenning responded to reports of a teenager with a pistol. In the video, you can see the officer pull up."He draws his weapon and he watches as this kid points that gun directly at him," Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said.The teenager eventually drops the weapon, which turned out to be a toy gun, and the officer withdraws his firearm."For whatever reason, that officer was comfortable with what was going on in the moment, risked his own life not knowing what was happening and chose not to shoot," Parizek said.The dramatic ordeal happened within a matter of seconds, and Parizek said it could have ended much differently."If an officer would have fired on that kid, that would have been justified," he said.Mike Sporer, owner of the JLM Gun Shoppe in Urbandale, said the decision is necessary and made under tremendous stress, and that BB or pellet guns look incredibly realistic."They look exactly like a real gun," Sporer said. "You can't tell the difference from a distance."RELATED: City council gives final approval to ban 'toy' firearmsPolice face growing problem of real looking fake gunsFake guns or real guns: Can you tell the difference?You cannot fire those guns within city limits. There are no ordinances against toy guns, which Parizek said look just as real.Earlier this week, Sioux City Council members adopted an ordinance that bans pellet and BB guns, but the ban does not include Nerf or squirt guns, or guns that shoot suction cup darts.The Sioux City police captain said officers have had multiple encounters with replica weapons and faced whether to use deadly force, but no one in the northwestern Iowa city has died from a police encounter while carrying a toy firearm."There's no difference between what they look like and the gun that is hanging on my hip right now," Parizek said. A law, however, wouldn't fix the overall problem, he said."We really need to be looking at what makes these kids think that they need to have a toy gun to give them the impression that they are armed with a firearm," Parizek said.Wiespfenning is no longer with the Des Moines Police Department because he left to pursue other opportunities. The teenager involved in the incident has not been charged.