The police shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice in Cleveland in late 2014 put police officers in the hot seat.

The boy pulled out a toy gun that officers thought was real.

"You've got one-tenth of a second to figure it out, 'Am I shooting a bullet or a BB?'"

That's what Stephen Loomis, the President of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association wants to ask Americans.
He has a box of guns real and fake used in violent crimes.

The replica guns look, feel and weigh the same as real guns and more criminals are using them in crimes because if they get caught they don't get gun specifications during sentencing.

"This is the one shooting 45's at you and this is the one shooting BB's at you. How is a police officer supposed to know? When someone is pointing one of these things or is holding it in their hand and they turn around there's no way a cop is going to be able to tell this," says Loomis.

Because of the Tamir Rice case Representative Bill Patmon of Cleveland wants to ban the sale of toy guns all together.

"Handguns are used to kill people and what we are doing with these fake guns is training our children to use them. and is think they shouldn't be manufactured or sold in Ohio or in the country," says Patmon.

His legislation goes to committee hearings in a few weeks.

Glenn Riddle of the Boardman Police Department has a similar box of guns which are real and fake.  He shows a fake one and says, "A lot of these operate like a real weapon would. The slide will lock back. Has a magazine that's removable.  A slide release and a decocking lever just like the real piece."

"If you see a kids with one of these guns get rid of it! Smash it! Bring it down here I'll buy it from you. The last thing in the world any police officer wants to do is shoot somebody or hurt somebody or be shot and that's all these things do," says Loomis.