Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A man was given a citation for discharging a firearm and was taken into custody by police at gunpoint April 8 after a call came in regarding a man waving a gun in the air.
The gun in question turned out to be a BB gun, but under a
Officers were dispatched at about 2:15 p.m. to the 1300 block of W. Thatcher Boulevard regarding a weapons offense. The person who called in the situation described a man waving a handgun in the air and possibly discharging it.
Upon arrival, officers came upon a male subject later identified as Leonard Dever. Multiple officers had their firearms trained on Dever as they gave him verbal commands and handcuffed him.
Dever allegedly admitted to having a BB gun and said he was shooting it at a tree for target practice. The BB gun was inspected and was found to have the appearance of a real revolver.
Dever was then given a citation for discharging a firearm within the city limits and released. While it may seem harsh to receive such a citation, the situation could have been much worse.
On Jan. 18, 2016, Daniel
When an intoxicated Shaver attempted to follow police orders to crawl toward them, he reached to pull up his boxer shorts and the officer shot and killed him because he thought Shaver was reaching for a concealed weapon. Brailsford was later found not guilty of murder and reckless manslaughter.