News from the People’s Republic of California.

In the latest example of police shooting first and asking questions later, a California cop opened fire on a man pointing an umbrella at him.

The Santa Rosa cop fired three times with his AR-15 but missed. The man took off running but the cop chased after him and tackled him.

That may have been the moment the cop realized the man had been wielding an umbrella all along.

Nevertheless, Joshua Oceguera was charged with making criminal threats, assault and brandishing a weapon, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

A California law firm explained on its website that in the eyes of the state, “a deadly weapon can be anything from a firearm to a baseball bat or even a bottle.”

In order to convict you of brandishing a deadly weapon, the prosecution must prove each of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

1.    You possessed a deadly weapon as defined by law, and

2.    You drew or exhibited the weapon in a rude, angry or threatening manner in front of someone else, or

3.    You actually used the weapon unlawfully in a quarrel or fight with someone, and

4.    You were not acting in self defense or in the defense of someone else

The incident took place Saturday afternoon and was captured on the officer’s body camera which will eventually be released under a new California transparency law, according to Fox 10.

When officers arrived, they said the suspect was “non-compliant and at one point brandished what the officer believed was a rifle.”

“We later learned that the item the suspect had brandished was a black umbrella,” Marincik said.

Police did not provide body camera video or a photo of the umbrella. “Under AB 748 and SB 1421, any related body worn camera and investigative reports that fall under those categories will be released at a future date,” Marincik said in an email, referring to two laws that mandate the eventual release of such information.

The officer fired three rounds from his department-issued rifle, Marincik said. The rounds did not strike the suspect and no one was “seriously injured,” though Marincik did not explain in detail what that meant.

The suspect then ran away from the officer, who chased him and tackled him to the ground a short distance later. The officer took the suspect into custody.

Marincik said the officer, who has less then two years on the force, is on paid administrative leave. The officer will be interviewed this week and the department will likely release his name “in the next day or two.”

Hmm … so let’s see here.  Assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, assault with the intent of doing bodily harm, disturbing the peace, and in general being a poor shot.

But the hell of this is that the cop will be able to do that and get away with it.  He will literally be able to mistake an umbrella for a rifle, shoot at an innocent man with his patrol rifle, and go back to work to do it all again one day.  So I predict.

And like all good cowards, the chief of police has no posted email address.  You remember what I said about public officials who have no contact information, right?

You’re never in more danger than when the police are around.  Run, hide and fight.  It isn’t just for foreign terrorist threats.  It’s for domestic terrorist threats as well.