After a rookie Cleveland patrolman fatally shot a 12 - year - old boy who was
holding a pellet gun in November, Ohio Gov. John Kasich created a panel to develop the state's first - ever standards for police use of deadly force.
After reviewing relevant case law, it
held that the
pellet gun did not qualify as a firearm as it was missing a magazine to
hold the
pellets and a functioning CO2 canister rendering it inoperable.