On November 22, 2014, a young boy by the name Tamir Rice was killed in Cleveland, Ohio, by Timothy Loehmann, a 26 year old police officer. During the time Rice was shot, he was carrying a replica toy gun. Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir immediately as he arrived at the scene.
Two police officers Timothy and 46 year old Frank Garmback were assigned a dispatch call regarding a male who had a gun. The caller had reported that there was a male pointing a pistol at random people. The incident occurred at the Cudell Recreation Centre, a park in the city of Cleveland. The caller also claimed that it was a toy gun and the handler was a juvenile however this information was not relayed to the officers deployed during the initial dispatch.
The dispatched officers reported that upon their arrival they yelled , “show me your hands.” through the open window of the patrol car. Officer Timothy further stated that instead of showing hands, it appeared as if Tamir Rice was trying to draw: I knew it was a gun and it was coming out. The officer shot twice hitting Tamir once on the torso. Twelve year old boys don’t on all occasions think that the police are going to to shot them. This is especially true if they are playing. The police are on their side, the good guys, twelve year old’s are taught this.
Tamir’s Rice gun was later found to be an airsoft replica that had an orange-tipped barrel, which would have clearly indicated that it was a toy gun. Shooting someone through the open window of a police cruiser shows no regard for the person. It is a definite show of nervousness and fear on the part of the officer. The only other explanation is the cop so was so lazy he didn’t care. He just decided to shot the kid and talk about it after his administrative paid vacation.
Rice died the following day.
