Young Twelve Year Old Boy Shot and Killed by Police Officer At A Local Playground

Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old, was shot in killed by a Cleveland City Police Officer. Two officers, including Timothy Loehmann, were called to respond to a police call. The person who called into the police department claimed there was a young man who had a gun and the caller was scared for her life so as a result when the officers arrived, Rice was found to have a toy gun in his hand that the officers assumed was a real gun that could be used to harm people. (Ali, Safia Samee)

When the boy would not follow their instructions to put the toy down, an officer ended up firing his gun, then shot and killed the young twelve year old boy.

Loehmann was not found guilty. In fact, people were justifying his decision to kill the boy. The reasoning behind the court's decision not to find Loehmann guilty was because he acted objectionably reasonable in this situation. The simple question that the jury was asked in this case was "did the officer have enough information and reasoning to believe that Rice could have posed a threat." Apparently to the jury, they believed that the officer did have a reason to believe he was in danger and for this reason the officer was found not guilty under the legal standard.

It is saddening how an officer could kill a boy and receive no punishment. To me, it is even more saddening that a numerous amount of people would support the death of a seventh grader. These people are in sense saying whenever a police order is not followed, it constitutes death.

I would like to call attention to the first image at the top or bottom of the page. This photo is of a poster from a police brutality rally and it states that 'the whole damn system is guilty.' I completely agree with this argument because I do believe that it was the judicial system that failed this young twelve year old boy. First, I would blame the police training force for making an officer believe that it would be okay to shoot and kill a young boy with a toy gun. The academy should have made sure officers would have known that this would not have been a proper protocol to handle a situation . Second, I would like to blame the actual officer who shot and killed Tamir. The fact that an officer with a family of his own would shoot and kill a young boy and have no remorse is dehumanizing to me.

I have attached a video below of the day that this young boy's life was taken away. I have found this video very disturbing and you might as well, please watch at your own discretion.

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#toygun #youngboy #policeofficer