12-year-old
with air gun dies in Cleveland police shooting
A Cleveland police officer
responding to a call about a person with a gun fatally wounded a 12-year-old
boy brandishing what turned out to be an air gun that looked very much like a
real firearm, police said early Sunday. The shooting Saturday afternoon came as
the nation nervously awaited a grand jury
decision on whether to charge the police officer who killed
African-American teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August. The
attorney for the family of the Cleveland youngster, who also was black,
downplayed any possible racial connotations to the shooting. "This is not
a black and white issue. This is a right and wrong issue," attorney Tim
Kucharski said. Police were summoned to the scene outside a recreation center
by a 911 caller who said someone -- possibly a juvenile -- was pointing a gun
at people. "There's a guy in there with
a pistol, you know, it's probably fake, but he's like pointing it at
everybody," the caller said. He's sitting on a swing
right now, but he's pulling it in and out of his pants and pointing it at
people," the caller said. "He's probably a juvenile, you know?" When
the two officers arrived, the boy did not point the weapon at them or
otherwise threaten them, Deputy Chief Ed Tomba of the Cleveland Division of
Police told reporters early Sunday. But he did reach for the weapon, Tomba
said. "The officers ordered him to stop and to show his hands and he went
into his waistband and pulled out the weapon," he said. Tomba showed
reporters the weapon -- a large, black BB- or pellet-type replica gun
resembling a semiautomatic pistol. An orange tip indicating the gun was an air
gun had been removed, police said. It wasn't clear if officers had been told
the weapon was not a firearm, Officer Ali Pillow told CNN on Sunday. Both
officers have been placed on leave, police said. The 12-year-old's name has not
been released by police. He died early Sunday at MetroHealth Medical Center
following surgery, according to the hospital and the family's attorney. People
who had gathered around the early-morning media scrum with Tomba hurled angry
questions at him, accusing police of unnecessary violence. "It's a toy gun
and a 12-year-old," a woman in the crowd yelled as reporters tried to ask
questions, according to video provided by WEWS. While saying a thorough and
open investigation was under way, Tomba defended the officers' actions in what
he called a "very, very tragic situation." "They were doing
their job," he said. Police shootings of African-Americans, particularly
young men, have been under rising scrutiny in recent months following the
shooting of Brown by a white officer following a brief confrontation in
Ferguson. A grand jury is expected to soon make a decision whether Officer
Darren Wilson should face criminal charges in that incident, which resulted in
widespread protests over police violence against African-Americans.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cleveland-police-shooting-boy-with-fake-gun-dies-after-being-shot-by-ohio-officer-9878700.html
This is horrible, and it doesn't help that it is right after the Grand Jury hearing for the Officer in the Ferguson shooting. This can only cause more unrest in an already volatile situation.
ReplyDeleteThere was no need for the police to fire their guns. They were impulsive and thats exactly what we don't need right now. Personally I believe they shouldn't be allowed back on the force.
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