Photo and press release from the Batavia Police and Genesee County Probation departments:

The Batavia Police and Genesee County Probation departments have teamed up to warn citizens of the potential dangers associated with the possession of BB and Airsoft guns.

The concern comes from how close BB and Airsoft guns appear to actual firearms, especially if they have been modified to appear more realistic.

Airsoft guns are generally shipped with an orange tip to help distinguish them from actual firearms, but both police and probation have encountered guns which have been painted to appear real.

For those who missed this year's National Night Out on Tuesday, Genesee County Probation had both a real firearm and a BB gun on display with the posed question, “Which one is the real gun?” Citizens found that even with a close inspection, let alone a split-second decision, it was difficult to tell which one was real. 

Although Batavia has not had a lethal incident involving a citizen with a BB or Airsoft gun, other areas of the country have, which prompted the partnership and this warning.

If anyone with these items on them gets approached by an officer, they should keep their hands away from the firearm, keep their hands visible and follow the officer’s commands.

In a situation where firearms are involved, officers have a split-second decision to make, and if these BB guns and Airsoft guns are altered it can be difficult to distinguish them from a real firearm in that brief moment.

It doesn’t matter if the citizen knows they have a BB gun or a toy gun painted to look like a real firearm, because if the officer does not know and the citizen points it in the direction of an officer or another person, an officer could easily make the justified split-second decision to use deadly physical force.