Former cop faces charges in 'shooting'

Allegedly fired pellets at boys

By Marilyn Robinson, Rocky Mountain News

Monday, May 12, 2008

A probationary Lakewood police officer has resigned and faces a disorderly conduct charge for allegedly shooting two 13- year-old boys with an airsoft gun.

Airsoft guns fire plastic projectiles about the size of a BB, but with less force than a BB gun, said Dennis Hahn, assistant manager at a Big 5 Sporting Goods store in Lakewood.

They are sold widely in sporting goods stores for use in simulated gun battles, similar to paintball.

The officer, 36-year-old Alexandre Simoes-Diz, had answered a call with other officers on "kids running around with guns" at West Ninth Avenue and Miller Street on April 4.

The officer allegedly offered the boys a choice of receiving a summons or getting shot with the gun. They chose the shot, said Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis.

The boys' parents reported the incident, leading to an internal investigation, which was referred to the district attorney's office, Davis said.

Simoes-Diz, meanwhile, chose to resign from the police department, Davis said.

Airsoft guns shoot a round plastic pellet but without the force or velocity of a paintball, Davis said. "At most, one of these pellets I suppose might leave a red mark."

Davis described the incident as a case of poor judgment on the officer's part.

"We weren't comfortable with it," he said.

The decision to charge the officer was discussed with the parents of both boys, said Pam Russell, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County District Attorney's office.

Simoes-Diz is to be arraigned June 12 in Jefferson County Court, she said.

• May 13, 2008

  7:09 a.m.

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  holekeeper writes:

  hahahahahahahahahahah Bring back Cheif Johnston!

• May 13, 2008

  7:42 a.m.

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  becket writes:

  That's what Lakewood gets for hiring and promoting the officers they have been. Lakewood does not value it's older officers. The ones who built the reputation it once had. Those are the ones they need to promote to guide the younger ones along. They went on a "youth" movement and now they will pay for it. Look at the age and real experience of their sergeants and above.

• May 13, 2008

  7:51 a.m.

  MarineGrunt writes:

  (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

• May 13, 2008

  9:53 a.m.

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  RunForrest writes:

  Let me get this straight: the kids weren't hurt? This guy loses his job AND faces charges? This is crazy... should the cop have been disciplined? yes, but fired and charged?!I don't think so. These parents should consider themselves lucky that these kids were not actually shot by the police considering that they were running around with what appear to be real guns. Just another case of parents of delinquents shifting the blame for their kids bad behavior.

• May 13, 2008

  7:23 p.m.

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  PageWraith writes:

  Police officers enforce the laws that are established but they are not given the authority to dole out the punishment. Those children deserved more than what they got but it was not the officer's job to decide that. Look, an officer's job is hard enough, with standards so high that even when you do your job well someone is still angry about it. A lot of these replica toys look very real let's all be happy that they were not mistaken for a real weapon. Think of those decisions that have to be made at that moment. If the officer has lost his job then that was the decision that was made but going after him with charges seems a little strong. Those kids are still alive even if their pride was a little bruised, it just should have been handled differently.

• May 14, 2008

  8:38 a.m.

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  PageWraith writes:

  Oh I almost forgot, hey parents grow up. Your going after an officer because of what happened. Maybe the people who were in that park that day need to sue you. Did you buy those replicas for your kids. Sounds to me like they were in the park hunting humans. Good parenting skills. They got bars in their future if you don't try harder.

• May 14, 2008

  2:40 p.m.

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  KayKayMarie1991 writes:

  HEY YOU KNOW WHAT MAKES ME MAD IS THAT YA'LL KEEP SAYING THAT IT'S ALL THE KIDS FAULT. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, IT'S NOT. THE COP WAS WAY OUT OF LINE SHOOTING THE BOYS AND I THINK YOU ALL REALLY NEED TO SEE THAT ALL YOU'RE GETTING IS ONE SIDE OF THE STORY. IF IT WERE BOTH SIDES THEN YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD FROM THE BOYS WITH THE AIRSOFT GUNS AS WELL AS THE BOY THAT SAYS THE BOYS SHOT HIM. I SAY THAT IF YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW WHAT TRUELY HAPPENED THEN SHUT UP AND UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S A TWO SIDED STORY WITH ONE SIDE BEING STATED. I DON'T CARE BUT THE COP WAS MORE AT FAULT AND DESERVED TO LOOSE HIS JOB AND I HOPE HE'LL NEVER BE A COP AGAIN. HE PUT A BAD NAME TO POLICE AND THAT'S WHAT THIS IS REALLY ALL ABOUT. THIS ISN'T ABOUT THOSE SEVEN YEAR OLD BOYS THAT SAY THEY WERE SHOT. STOP AND RELIZE HOW STUPID YOU ARE BEING BY THINKING THAT IT'S ALL THE BOYS FAULT. THE COP IS AT FAULT FOR SHOOTING THE TWO BOYS AND YOU ALL KNOW THAT. SO JUST STOP AND THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.

• May 14, 2008

  2:45 p.m.

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  KayKayMarie1991 writes:

  OH YEAH PageWraith IF YOU REALLY THINK THAT THE PARENTS OF THE 2 BOYS ARE BEING IMMATURE THEN THINK ABOUT HOW YOU WOULD REACT IF THIS HAPPENED TO YOUR KIDS. YOU'D DO THE SAME DAMN THING. SO WOULD ALL YOU OTHER PEOPLE POSTING COMMENTS SAYING THAT THE PARENTS OF THE BOYS ARE BAD PARENTS. THEY PROBABLY PUNISHED THEIR KIDS WITH WELL EARNED PUNISHMENTS FOR MORE THAN LIKELY DOING SOMETHING THEY WERE TOLD NOT TO DO.

• May 14, 2008

  3:27 p.m.

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  nanak writes:

  Look, I know one of these kids. He's a good, sweet boy. Yes he and a friend snuck out to the park when they weren't supposed to. I've seen this gun, it's clear plastic with multi-colored beads - there is no way it could have been confused with a real gun.
  The parents are not sueing the cop or the city, or anything else. They called the Police Department questioning the cops taking the guns and SHOOTING the boys! I was with his parents when he called them, he was terrified. The police office shot him from such close range that he was left with multiple bruises - since he shot and shot and shot him! The decision to suspend the office was from the internal affairs people, the parents had nothing to do with it - from my understanding this was not his first offense, which is why he is in so much trouble. On the other hand, it was the boys' first offense. Between the fear put in them by the officer and the severe punishment from parents WHO DO CARE - and would never have allowed them to go to the park with their air-guns to start with. Pushing the boys up against the car, threatening to arrest them - in short "putting the fear of God" in to them, I totally agree with. Shooting them repeatedly from such close range as to leave bruises - that is totally wrong!

• May 14, 2008

  6:33 p.m.

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  PageWraith writes:

  First I did say what the officer did was wrong. Police enforce they do not dole out punishment. It is not their job. What this is all about is you thinking your kids did nothing wrong. Stop trying to take the attention off yourself. Here let me help, the kids could not buy the air soft an adult had to. You just accepted the responsibility. Second, if they did sneak out they had access, you did not disable or put them away, still your responsibility. Third, it shows that their training was lacking, still your responsibility. Fourth, someone called the cops on them, must have been a reason. Also I cannot say I would react the same way because my child would not be at the park doing that. The article says you discussed this with the D.A. Did you also discuss having the boys arrested, probably not. Would you like to know why? Because your kids are not in the legal system right now. I would have taken that choice as a kid any day. How much of this would have happened if the kids never went to the park. Start accepting what happened, it finished bad but it also started bad. Boys do make mistakes, don't pretend that this was not a mistake. The officer was wrong, he lost his job.

• May 16, 2008

  10:35 p.m.

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  dirty writes:

  I have zero problem with what the cop did. Does one seriously think that the little punks will be randomly shooting people with his air-soft gun again...From what I hear the kids are well known in the area for bullying 6 and 7 year kids in the neigbourhood and the cops have come across them repeatedly. This was nothing more than a clip around the ear that most os us grew up with...unfortunately these two punks have learnt another lesson, ran to mommy and daddy and blame everyone else...

  Whats needed here is the parents go to some much needed parenting classes, Lakewood Police reinstate the cop and everyone get some commonsense.