Richmond PD addresses video showing officers with guns drawn on teenagers

Officers detain teens with BB gun

The Richmond PD is responding to a video circulating on social media showing officers with guns drawn while interacting with a group of teenage boys.

RICHMOND, Calif. - The Richmond Police Department is responding to a video circulating on social media that shows officers interacting with a group of teenage boys with their guns drawn earlier this week.

What we know:

The incident occurred Monday afternoon, according to police. 

Officers were dispatched after receiving a call from a community member reporting a group of boys with a suspected gun near her front yard. 

Upon confronting the boys, officers drew their weapons, but they were able to quickly determine that the object was a BB gun that was missing the required safety feature.

The police released the teenage boys to a parent who came to the scene shortly after.

Under the law, such an object is supposed to have a bright orange tip or similar marker so it is "readily recognizable as not being a firearm." 

No one was hurt.

What they're saying:

Lt. Donald Patchin emphasized the difficulty officers face in distinguishing between real and replica weapons from a distance, and offered a message to the community.

"[You] can't tell from afar whether is this a real gun, is this a BB gun? And yes, there are laws where the object is supposed to have a bright orange tip or something like that so that they're readily recognizable as not being a firearm. We're just very glad that nobody was hurt. Hopefully, this was a teaching moment. Speak with your kids. Speak with young adults."