A man enters a bank with intent to rob. He is using a toy pistol. Do police shoot or not?

If a man eneters the bank with intent to commit robbery he is already despirate and wether the gun is real or a toy it is believed by the bank employees, patrons and the police as a real firearm. If the police are involved and enter the bank they will be encountering a despirate individual with a firearm, if the offender complies with all verbal commands the police give him and he surrenders the gun. No one will be shot. If he points the toy gun at anyone or police he will be shot without question.

Granted, there are times for an exception to this...but a police officer's duty is to protect both others AND him(her)self FIRST...if someone is pointing a gun, toy or no, or any type object that can be assumed is a weapon, regretfully I would shoot. Any killing of another being is horrible, but if there is a chance that it IS real (and the person is stupid enough to attempt a robbery), and my family/loved one's are who I'm thinking of, yes...police should shoot.

Any item appearing to be a gun is considered a gun. If the security guards and police are unaware or unsure about the authenticity of the gun, they will and should assume that it's real. If the gun is brandished at a person, ginfire will ensue. Better one dead or wounded bank robber than a dead civilian or police officer.

If I enter a bank and a man is standing there in the midst of a robbery pointing a gun at me, I shoot him. No question, no hesitation. I'd rather be regretful that a desperate, stupid man died holding a toy pistol than have my spouse making my funeral arrangements.

When do they know that it is a toy? Immediately? or after the robbery?
The bank guards would apprehend before the police get there..
No gunfire.

Say you are a police officer and faced with this situation.

The robber points the so-called unknown weapon at you. what would you do?

You would do the same as any police officer, fire first and discover the toy weapon later.

The robber came into the bank with intent to rob it. what he used as a weapon is secondary. the fact that he used a make-believe real weapon is not within the scope of reality. in other words, the police do not have the time to say "halt, lets check to see if you are robbing this bank with a real weapon". it does not work that way.

Defense for the workers, customers and the officer comes first.

In this situation, shoot first, ask the questions later.

a lot of fake guns look as genuine as the real thing....look at any GLOCK...it looks like a toy....i do know that if you committ a robbery with a real gun with no bullets, you will still get the maximum sentence....but, if the toy gun looks real and you point it at the cops, they will not hesitate to shoot you......take care.......Brian....

Sure they do

Definitely shoot. If the gun looks real enough to pass for a robbery, it's real enough to be a threat. Two sayings: "It's better to be preached at, than preached over." And "It's better to be judged by twelve, than carried by six."