Tamir Rice
The shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice in Cleveland came just two days before a grand jury in Missouri declined to indict the white police officer in Ferguson who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old. The case began when a caller to 911 said a male was pointing a gun at people in a Cleveland park. The caller added that the gun was “probably fake” and that the person waving it was “probably a juvenile”. But those caveats were not relayed to Officer Loehmann or his partner. Officer Loehmann, who is white, opened fire within two seconds of arriving at the park.
The shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice in Cleveland came just two days before a grand jury in Missouri declined to indict the white police officer in Ferguson who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old. The case began when a caller to 911 said a male was pointing a gun at people in a Cleveland park. The caller added that the gun was “probably fake” and that the person waving it was “probably a juvenile”. But those caveats were not relayed to Officer Loehmann or his partner. Officer Loehmann, who is white, opened fire. As in the killing of Michael Brown, the white officer assumed his black victim was larger and older than he actually was, describing him as “black male, maybe 20, black revolver…” Rice was 5 feet 7 inches and weighed 195 pounds. Loehmann, the officer in training who fired the fatal shot, told investigators that he opened the car door and told Rice repeatedly, "Put your hands in the air! Let me see your hands! Freeze!" while the car was “about 30 yards” from the boy. This statement contradicted a written statement Loehmann gave the grand jury where he said he didn’t open the door and start yelling until the car rolled to a stop closer to Rice. Loheman told investigators he thought the gun Rice was holding was real and that the “threat just became incredible". Loehmann also said he "presented" his gun and gave commands through a "closed" car window to the boy during the interview.