Tamir Rice, who had a toy gun, was shot and killed by Cleveland police on Saturday outside of a recreation center and died on Sunday, November 23, 2014. This 12-year old child never had a chance to explain that he didn’t have a weapon. Based on the video, it doesn’t seem that the police even tried to determine whether or not he was armed, despite claims by police that he was told 3 times to show his hands. The video is in real-time and it appears that less than 2 seconds after police arrived on the scene, they opened fire.
It’s important to know that even if Tamir’s toy gun were real, he would have committed no crime. Cleveland, Ohio has an open carry law (see below). The 911 caller repeatedly stated, “He’s probably a juvenile and it’s probably fake.” He also stated that he was waving it around at people, but according to the video no one was around at the time that police arrived. There was no justification for killing him, as no one was in imminent danger.
With all of the injustice of Black people being caught on camera, we hear other races asking us repeatedly why it’s being made into a racial issue! Ask yourself if this boy was white, whether or not officers would have shot first and asked questions later.
It’s time for change!