Summary: This article from CNN is explaining new developments on the case of Tamir Rice, a 12 year old African American who was shot by police in November of 2014. This story blew up all over social media and sparked lots of conflict because of his age and the fact that he was in possession of a gun that resembled a handgun, but only fired pellets. Video of the incident shows the police car pulling up next to the park in which Rice was at. Within 2 seconds of stepping out of the car, the officer shot Tamir. It is said that Rice's "gun" was in the waistband of his pants. Sims writes that in the video, Rice reaches towards his waist before he was shot, but this is still unclear. A report that was released by Sr. Lamar Sims, the senior chief deputy in Denver, earlier this month stated that the officers decision to shoot Rice as he approached the officers was, "objectively reasonable". Sims writes, "There can be no doubt that Rice's death was tragic and, indeed, when one considers his age, heartbreaking. However, for all reasons discussed herein, I conclude that Officer Loehmann's belief that Rice posed a threat of serious physical harm or death was objectively reasonable as was his response to that perceived threat."
Analysis: This new report has re-sparked lots of conflict in this case. Many argue that Officer Loehmann gave no warning before shooting Rice, although otherwise stated by Cleveland Police Department. This is also a huge story due to the fact that Tamir Rice was a black boy and only 12 years old. Although racism and segregation "ended" in 1964 with the Civil Rights Act, today we still struggle with it. This story is a great example. If the witness had see a white boy playing on a playground with a fake gun, would he have called police? Would the officer have fired shots within 2 seconds of stepping out of his car if he had seen a white boy on the playground? Today's society really struggles with many of the same conflicts as we did back in the 60's. Only today, it is worse, because we have social media to spread stories and start conflict. It is rather disappointing that so many stories like Tamir's have happened in such a short time period.
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It seems that everyday we hear about another tamir rice, and all the cases usually end with the same result. Lives lost, and no punishment made. For us to truly stop this issue we have to being examining our own hearts, and move foward from the mistakes we have made in the past. It is also clear the police need new policies on how they handle posed threats.
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