LAKEWOOD — A probationary Lakewood police agent who punished two 13-year-old boys by shooting them with soft pellets from an Airsoft gun has resigned.
The incident occurred April 4 when police agent Alexandre Simoes-Diz responded to a call at West Ninth Avenue and Miller Street on complaints that two boys were chasing younger children with guns, said Steve Davis, Lakewood police spokesman.
When the agent, who had been with the department about a year and on the streets five months, caught the teenagers, he gave them a choice. He could either issue a summons or shoot them with the Airsoft gun, Davis said.
The two boys chose being shot with the gun, whose pellets are so soft that they leave no marks, said Davis. Davis said Simoes-Diz shot each boy once in the rear.
Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
