Upon learning for sure last night that Merle Hatch had only a broken phone handle when he was shot dead by the cops he cussed at and then ran toward on Sunday, Portland Copwatch graciously decided to send flashcards to Police Chief Mike Reese so his officers might better distinguish between real weapons and fake guns.

The flashcards are something of a history lesson.

"Portland Copwatch has prepared a flash card set for the Portland Police Bureau," Dan Handelman wrote Reese this afternoon. "We hope you will distribute it to all members."

I'll go out on a limb and guess Reese will decline. The bureau made a point last night of airing not just video of Hatch's shooting but also audio in which everyone kept saying he had a "gun" or "weapon" in his hand.