So, if you haven't heard about this yet, Tamir Rice was a 12 year old boy from Cleveland, Ohio who was shot and killed by police.
The police department said they received phone calls about a "juvenile" pointing a "probably fake" gun at passerby's in a park. They said when officers arrived, Tamir reached for the gun in his waistband. In less than 3 seconds from exiting the vehicle, Officer Loehmann fired two shots, hitting Rice once in the torso. The gun did turn out to only be an air-soft, but the orange tip indicating as such had been removed. Tamir died the next day.
The department said that the 911 dispatcher did not mention that the gun was "probably fake" when contacting the officers. They also claim that the officers issued an order for Rice to put his hands up. The officer that shot Tamir had been deemed unfit for duty by another department for emotional instability.
The family's lawyer, Benjamin Crump, known for his involvement in the Zimmerman and Brown trials, is calling for laws prohibiting air-soft guns as a response. The mother said he didn't own the illegally modified air-soft, and most likely got it from a friend. The family is looking for convictions for both officers at the scene.
So what are your thoughts on this one?
Surveillance video
Photo of the air-soft (1911 replica)
Fox article
CNN article
Article on Loehmann's emotional instability
The police department said they received phone calls about a "juvenile" pointing a "probably fake" gun at passerby's in a park. They said when officers arrived, Tamir reached for the gun in his waistband. In less than 3 seconds from exiting the vehicle, Officer Loehmann fired two shots, hitting Rice once in the torso. The gun did turn out to only be an air-soft, but the orange tip indicating as such had been removed. Tamir died the next day.
The department said that the 911 dispatcher did not mention that the gun was "probably fake" when contacting the officers. They also claim that the officers issued an order for Rice to put his hands up. The officer that shot Tamir had been deemed unfit for duty by another department for emotional instability.
The family's lawyer, Benjamin Crump, known for his involvement in the Zimmerman and Brown trials, is calling for laws prohibiting air-soft guns as a response. The mother said he didn't own the illegally modified air-soft, and most likely got it from a friend. The family is looking for convictions for both officers at the scene.
So what are your thoughts on this one?
Surveillance video
Photo of the air-soft (1911 replica)
Fox article
CNN article
Article on Loehmann's emotional instability
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