Texas cops respond to 911 report of gunshots and 'fighting,' only to find children playing with toy guns at a family birthday party

Texas cops respond to 911 report of gunshots and 'fighting,' only to find children playing with toy guns at a family birthday party

A Texas City police officer gave the children toys to alleviate their fear of law enforcement, according to local reports.

www.yahoo.com

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Taylor Ardrey
Sat, May 8, 2021, 6:33 PM·2 min read


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• Someone called 911 on a Texas family having a birthday celebration, KTRK-TV reported.
• The caller warned of gunshots and fighting, but police found children playing with toy guns.
• One of the officers gave the children more toys to alleviate their fears of law enforcement.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Police in Texas received an anonymous report about a shooting and fighting at a Texas home, and arrived at the scene only to discover children playing with toy guns, according to local media reports.
The children were reportedly playing with Nerf guns at a family member's 50th birthday party before police arrived at their Texas City residence.
"They were running around the yard and they had Nerf wars," Adriana Reyna told KTRK-TV. "They were wrestling and just enjoying family time."
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Reyna told KTRK-TV that someone dialed the police, claiming they heard gunshots and fighting.
When police responded to the scene, Reyna said the family "did not have a clue what was going on" and the kids "were very frightened." The station reported that the responding officers quickly realized the children were only using toy guns, not firearms.

One officer even gave the children more toys from his car.
"To me, kids are the future. So we need to make sure that the kids feel safe, that they can trust us," Texas City officer Taide Pineda told KTRK-TV. "So we need to build a relationship with them, try to make them grow up not hating us."
Reyna's sister-in-law told the station that 911 callers need to be "cautious."
"It could have been worse than what it was you know? Officers could've had their guns drawn, and it could've gone left really quick," Yvette Reyna told KTRK-TV.
"I thank God that the officers that handled that call didn't come guns blazing and assessed the scene properly. It scares me to know things could have gone south quickly," Reyna said in a Facebook post. "The officers were very apologetic when they realized that nothing of what was reported had taken place."

 

[EepEep]

While it IS a nice gesture.... why does this dude just have random kids toys in his cop car? A little odd tbh.

I always hated that scene. Play fighting is important for child development.

You realize cops have the misfortune of encountering young children in traumatizing situations at a higher frequency than most people, right?

If mom and dad have to go in the paddy wagon, the first responder (who is most often a cop) has to look after the kids until social services take custody. Having a toy on hand to calm the child down makes sense.

 

[verygayFrogs]

You realize cops have the misfortune of encountering young children in traumatizing situations at a higher frequency than most people, right?

If mom and dad have to go in the paddy wagon, the first responder (who is most often a cop) has to look after the kids until social services take custody. Having a toy on hand to calm the child down makes sense.

Saw it a lot on cops. One was even an Elmo toy

 

[EepEep]

Saw it a lot on cops. One was even an Elmo toy

Never could watch that show because of how entitled a lot of the perps acted. My patience is very low for that type of thing. But it makes perfect sense to have some sort of toy on hand and it's not surprising it's a policy in some places.

 

[Synthetic Smug]

I could believe this was some bitter recluse who wantedt the cops to come and stop the horrible sound of children's laughter if not for the part where they lied about hearing gunshots. That was just a straight up fabrication designed to get the cops thinking they were heading into a shootout, and the only reason you'd do that is to try and get someone killed by a cop on edge.


"Why would the cops have objects designed to calm children down? They must be trying to fuck kids!"

Get the fuck off Twitter and Reddit.

Yeah there's a cool tow truck guy on YouTube that keeps a little toy or two in the cab in case there's a traumatized kid at an accident scene he attends. A little plush Mater or such.

 

[Exigent Circumcisions]

why does this dude just have random kids toys in his cop car? A little odd tbh

Sorry to be that guy, but... What's 5-0 doing with toys in their car?

Glad no kids got shot, but... Little bit creepy?

It must have been a hard day for your parents when you were diagnosed with autism.

 

[ColtWalker1847]

Yeah there's a cool tow truck guy on YouTube that keeps a little toy or two in the cab in case there's a traumatized kid at an accident scene he attends. A little plush Mater or such.

Hell yeah, Ron Pratt. That guy is the most professional person in the industry. He defines the term Class Act.

 

[Local FloRida-man]

You realize cops have the misfortune of encountering young children in traumatizing situations at a higher frequency than most people, right?

If mom and dad have to go in the paddy wagon, the first responder (who is most often a cop) has to look after the kids until social services take custody. Having a toy on hand to calm the child down makes sense.

Good people skills would accomplish basically the same thing. A cheap ass toy handed to you by some strangers isnt going to distract a kid that those same strangers threw mommy and daddy in a car and hauled them off.

Besides, the cop in the story would have no reason to give the kids a toys if they didnt scare them in the first place.

It must have been a hard day for your parents when you were diagnosed with autism.

If being suspicious of a grown man driving around with multiple toys in his car to give to children makes me autistic then slap me on the spectrum baby. The boys in blue have done so much to engender all this good will over the last year, afterall.

 

[Exigent Circumcisions]

slap me on the spectrum baby

 

[EepEep]

Good people skills would accomplish basically the same thing. A cheap ass toy handed to you by some strangers isnt going to distract a kid that those same strangers threw mommy and daddy in a car and hauled them off.

Besides, the cop in the story would have no reason to give the kids a toys if they didnt scare them in the first place.

If being suspicious of a grown man driving around with multiple toys in his car to give to children makes me autistic then slap me on the spectrum baby. The boys in blue have done so much to engender all this good will over the last year, afterall.

Bro, what? No one said the toy was some magical amulet, it's just a tool to help on top of people skills. With that line of logic, it's suspect that doctor's waiting rooms would offer toys and books for kids too.

I know it's in the news a lot but not everyone is a kiddy diddling freak. It's not that fucking deep.

 

[Local FloRida-man]

It's not that fucking deep.

Neither was me just raising my eyebrow in my original post. Not even accusing anyone, just tilting my head. And yet here you guys are, shitting your pants over it.

Who knew having toys in cop cars was such serious business. Well, I guess this IS the farms after all...

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

The toy thing does sound weird but when you think about it there is logic to it.

Many parents who commit crimes are also bad parents.
Bad parents often do not think about not taking their children when they commit crimes. Or commit spontaneous crimes without their child's presence being a restraining factor.
Police who have to arrest the bad parents may then often also have to deal with the children as best they can.
While a toy is not a magic fix it can help. Any tool that helps the police lessen the trauma the children get out of this is good since it cuts down on the odds of them seeing that same child in 10-15 years time completely out of their mind on something and headbutting a window.
As an added bonus there probably are some adult suspects they arrest that may be more willing to nod off in the back seat if given a cuddly toy (the last paragraph is sarcasm even if it is a funny mental image).

Have a depressing video of a toddler approaching the police with their hands up.

Toddler Puts Arms up as Dad Is Arrested

Footage of a barefoot 2-year-old in Florida with her arms up in the air as police arrest one of her parents is raising eyebrows. Tallahassee police pulled ov...

www.youtube.com

 

[NyQuilninja]

The toy thing does sound weird but when you think about it there is logic to it.

Many parents who commit crimes are also bad parents.
Bad parents often do not think about not taking their children when they commit crimes. Or commit spontaneous crimes without their child's presence being a restraining factor.
Police who have to arrest the bad parents may then often also have to deal with the children as best they can.
While a toy is not a magic fix it can help. Any tool that helps the police lessen the trauma the children get out of this is good since it cuts down on the odds of them seeing that same child in 10-15 years time completely out of their mind on something and headbutting a window.
As an added bonus there probably are some adult suspects they arrest that may be more willing to nod off in the back seat if given a cuddly toy (the last paragraph is sarcasm even if it is a funny mental image).

Have a depressing video of a toddler approaching the police with their hands up.

Toddler Puts Arms up as Dad Is Arrested

Footage of a barefoot 2-year-old in Florida with her arms up in the air as police arrest one of her parents is raising eyebrows. Tallahassee police pulled ov...

www.youtube.com

See niggers it's not hard Even toddlers know to put their hands up when being arrested by the police

 

[murdered meat bag]

Neither was me just raising my eyebrow in my original post. Not even accusing anyone, just tilting my head. And yet here you guys are, shitting your pants over it.

Who knew having toys in cop cars was such serious business. Well, I guess this IS the farms after all...

Jokes on you was pretending to be retarded

What city does yous guys live in that news stations werent pumping police donate toys to needy kids every week since ferguson?

 

[Vlinny-kun]

Good people skills would accomplish basically the same thing.

"Lol why can't the cops just talk it out with the armed robber?"

There is almost no reasoning with young children, especially if you're a stranger, especially if you're a stranger that just scared the shit out of them and took their dad away. If you'd ever had to take care of a kid for more than a few minutes you would realize that when they see a toy or dessert that they want but can't have at the moment. It's rare that they listen to you the first few times you explain to them why they can't have it. Giving them something new and shiny provides the quick dopamine fix that is enough to distract them long enough to do what you need to get done and move on. It may not always work, but it sure as hell is better than explaining to a very emotional 6 year old why they have to take pops away for a "while" and then leave them with nothing in return but a bitter memory.

 

[Local FloRida-man]

Jokes on you was pretending to be retarded

What city does yous guys live in that news stations werent pumping police donate toys to needy kids every week since ferguson?

This is the quote that set everyone off.

While it IS a nice gesture.... why does this dude just have random kids toys in his cop car? A little odd tbh.

God forbid someone call the boys in blue.... ODD! How will they ever recover from such slander? Seriously, the level of white knight indignation over this is baffling.

A cop going to a shooting, only to find a child's b-day party and (coincidentally) having multiple toys to hand out read to me as suspiciously convenient. Was just gonna leave it at that, but it I guess people feel the need to defend Big Blue Daddy.

"Lol why can't the cops just talk it out with the armed robber?"

There is almost no reasoning with young children, especially if you're a stranger, especially if you're a stranger that just scared the shit out of them and took their dad away. If you'd ever had to take care of a kid for more than a few minutes you would realize that when they see a toy or dessert that they want but can't have at the moment. It's rare that they listen to you the first few times you explain to them why they can't have it. Giving them something new and shiny provides the quick dopamine fix that is enough to distract them long enough to do what you need to get done and move on. It may not always work, but it sure as hell is better than explaining to a very emotional 6 year old why they have to take pops away for a "while" and then leave them with nothing in return but a bitter memory.

This reads like someone who has never interacted with a child being forced to write a short essay on them. They arent retarded. They know when they're being played. Also, dont know of you noticed, but your first sentence is comparing children to armed robbers.

 

[Devyn]

We do. The news doesn't get as many outrage clicks when cops are just doing their jobs.

Like that Burger King foot lettuce faggot or the Subway guy wiping ham on his ass; most know not to do that, but "Guy makes mediocre fast food" doesn't get the same clicks.

Exactly, there are so many clips out there of police officers saving choking babies and toddlers for instance, it's ridiculous. They always seem totally humble and nonchalant about it too, they're decent human beings just doing what they were trained for

Spoiler: a few examples

The vast majority of police have no desire to shoot people either, not even POCs who are literally begging to be shot

 

[murdered meat bag]

This is the quote that set everyone off.

God forbid someone call the boys in blue.... ODD! How will they ever recover from such slander? Seriously, the level of white knight indignation over this is baffling.

A cop going to a shooting, only to find a child's b-day party and (coincidentally) having multiple toys to hand out read to me as suspiciously convenient. Was just gonna leave it at that, but it I guess people feel the need to defend Big Blue Daddy.

This reads like someone who has never interacted with a child being forced to write a short essay on them. They arent retarded. They know when they're being played. Also, dont know of you noticed, but your first sentence is comparing children to armed robbers.

you don't know a common practice in america that would've been gleaned from existing in reality or on the internet. it's thinking "what's up?" is a question about what's above you and not a greeting.

 

[Vlinny-kun]

This is the quote that set everyone off.

God forbid someone call the boys in blue.... ODD! How will they ever recover from such slander? Seriously, the level of white knight indignation over this is baffling.

A cop going to a shooting, only to find a child's b-day party and (coincidentally) having multiple toys to hand out read to me as suspiciously convenient. Was just gonna leave it at that, but it I guess people feel the need to defend Big Blue Daddy.

This reads like someone who has never interacted with a child being forced to write a short essay on them. They arent retarded. They know when they're being played. Also, dont know of you noticed, but your first sentence is comparing children to armed robbers.

You sound a bit upset, like you never got a free toy whenever the cops were called when you were a small kid. There's no need to take it out on us, dude.

 

[Local FloRida-man]

you don't know a common practice in america that would've been gleaned from existing in reality or on the internet. it's thinking "what's up?" is a question about what's above you and not a greeting.

Common practice doesnt make common sense, but guess we're just gonna have to disagree on that one.

You sound a bit upset, like you never got a free toy whenever the cops were called when you were a small kid. There's no need to take it out on us, dude.

No hard feelings at all. I wish you all the dopamine and happy meal toys your PD can afford.

 

[murdered meat bag]

You sound a bit upset, like you never got a free toy whenever the cops were called when you were a small kid. There's no need to take it out on us, dude.

did you get a bootleg power ranger toy too? they were made out of thin plastic, hollow and they were pretty shit. but fun for a kid.

Common practice doesnt make common sense, but guess we're just gonna have to disagree on that one.

jokes on you i was only pretending to be a retard.