Last Friday, a man’s decision to tote what turned out to be an imitation firearm at a Novato gas station sparked police action. The Novato Police Department reported that after receiving a witness’s description of the suspect brandishing a black handgun, officers were quick to locate the vehicle and engage with the cooperative driver. As it turned out, the “firearm” was nothing more than a BB gun, albeit one lacking the distinctive markings-such as an orange tip-used to identify it as harmless.