I'm sorry but the police were 1000% at fault here. They were told it was probably a "fake" gun. Yet, they drove up within 20 ft of the boy. Who does that if they think someone has a real weapon? Wouldn't you shout at him from a safe distance? Give him a chance to put down the item/weapon? No one had been shot to that point. Then to tackle and handcuff the sister? This is just awful on every possible level. No excuse.
9
Really training is the answer. Training even before they became cops is the true answer. They were more concerned about how they was going to explain this than with the child's wellbeing. If they had of ran over a horse and did this animal rights advocates would be pulling their hair out. We treat animals better than this. What was the reason for handcuffing the little girl who was only trying to comfort her dying brother. Really tired of them using that they have a difficult job line so they are not to be held accountable crap Job to tough quit. What is so sad is the decent cops let that blue wall of ignorance keep them with their tails between their legs. Real men don't let bullies take their honor. Guess they really never had any in the first place. if this was a armed and dangerous perp would real cops drive next to him? No
7
Do we need any better illustration of why the (mostly) young protesters of every hue, ethnicity, race, creed and religion were in the streets across America chanting "BLACK LIVES MATTER?" ...because it is painfully obvious that segments of the law enforcement community think and believe otherwise!
9
We will never know what Timothy Loehmann really did. Only he will know that. But if I were on the Grand Jury my strong suspicion would be that he already had his gun out while approaching the scene and perhaps even had his finger on the trigger which is against any published procedure. The events unfolded just too quickly.
Everything that follows in this video indicates a process of shocked disbelief froze these officers in a flight or fight panic response *after* any possible danger was gone.
Homicide under color of authority in law but in truth a criminally negligent homicide by an officer and a department unwilling or unable to control themselves.
Everything that follows in this video indicates a process of shocked disbelief froze these officers in a flight or fight panic response *after* any possible danger was gone.
Homicide under color of authority in law but in truth a criminally negligent homicide by an officer and a department unwilling or unable to control themselves.
7
For crying out loud, it was a kid.
All arguments about training, having a realistic looking gun, etc. aside, it was a kid. No moral human just guns down a kid.
More space, more time, maybe even taking a bit of a risk that a 12-year-old kid could actually hurt a trained police officer with a first shot, that would be in order.
May seem callous to say this, but I would always rather be mourning an adult police officer than a 12-year-old kid.
All arguments about training, having a realistic looking gun, etc. aside, it was a kid. No moral human just guns down a kid.
More space, more time, maybe even taking a bit of a risk that a 12-year-old kid could actually hurt a trained police officer with a first shot, that would be in order.
May seem callous to say this, but I would always rather be mourning an adult police officer than a 12-year-old kid.
10
There are many things police don't do but until their detractors step up, join departments and show them how then you will just have to settle for what happens.
I worked as a hotel security officer right out of the military while attending the local university on the GI Bill. One night a well known heroin dealing thug was removed from the hotel bar for groping the privates of a woman without her consent. During his escort out he stabbed an employee with a fixed blade knife. An off duty officer present had the foresight to exit the back door and was waiting in the parking lot but did not witness the second battery. They walked towards each other and I signaled the officer that he had a weapon. The assailant had just passed the officer when he was elevated into the air and smashed head down onto the edge of the curb causing him to seize. I asked the officer if I should get "our customer" a blanket or something before the ambulance arrived, it was very cold that night. He smiled, responded with an affirmative nod and returned into the bar.
Now, not that it makes one bit of difference to me but if you were to attach color to the final contestants, what say you? That's right.
I worked as a hotel security officer right out of the military while attending the local university on the GI Bill. One night a well known heroin dealing thug was removed from the hotel bar for groping the privates of a woman without her consent. During his escort out he stabbed an employee with a fixed blade knife. An off duty officer present had the foresight to exit the back door and was waiting in the parking lot but did not witness the second battery. They walked towards each other and I signaled the officer that he had a weapon. The assailant had just passed the officer when he was elevated into the air and smashed head down onto the edge of the curb causing him to seize. I asked the officer if I should get "our customer" a blanket or something before the ambulance arrived, it was very cold that night. He smiled, responded with an affirmative nod and returned into the bar.
Now, not that it makes one bit of difference to me but if you were to attach color to the final contestants, what say you? That's right.
1
Great story bro. You may feel it's okay to settle but lots of us aren't quite as defeatist and complacent.
2
Can't be right, Ally, not even partially without weighing in.
NEWS FLASH for people who are unable to empathize with the suffering of this twelve year old boy and his grieving family: You really can admire and respect and pray for God to protect "the police" and all first responders and, SIMULTANEOUSLY, understand that the police officer in this particular case was, in the words of one commenter, "hunting bear." The police in this case treated this boy and his family like DIRT.
Criticizing one or two police officers is not the same thing as disrespecting all police officers.
We understand how tough it is to be a police officer. Everyone knows it's one of the most difficult and dangerous lines of work, and this is why, when we see incontrovertible evidence of despicable and deplorable, unprofessional and yes, sometimes murderous behavior, it inflames people who expect more and better from a person wearing that badge.
Criticizing one or two police officers is not the same thing as disrespecting all police officers.
We understand how tough it is to be a police officer. Everyone knows it's one of the most difficult and dangerous lines of work, and this is why, when we see incontrovertible evidence of despicable and deplorable, unprofessional and yes, sometimes murderous behavior, it inflames people who expect more and better from a person wearing that badge.
14
Once again, most Americans will likely shrug and essentially say, "who cares." As long as they keep ME and MINE "safe," then why bother with what they do to 'those other people.'
3
To me, the real crime is the total lack of medical assistance given in this case, as well as those in Staten Island and the housing project stairwell in Brooklyn.
In each, even if you give the police the benefit of the doubt in the initial incident, there was the possibility that each of the victim's lives could have been saved.
It's this utter callousness shown by the police towards these human beings that make the officers' claims of innocence ring hollow.
In each, even if you give the police the benefit of the doubt in the initial incident, there was the possibility that each of the victim's lives could have been saved.
It's this utter callousness shown by the police towards these human beings that make the officers' claims of innocence ring hollow.
6
There are so many articles appealing us to rely on the police unconditionally, while such cases as this one make us doubt that the police officers are always right. The atmosphere wasn't so tensed in case men were the sum of their actions, but not shield and gun
1
I watched this video just like I watched the video of Johannes Mehserle murdering Oscar Grant. That video was clear, it showed Mehserle holstering his Taser gun as he walked over to Oscar being held on the ground by two other transit cops, he stood over Oscar's back, pulled out his gun and shot him in the back. There was no mistake on Mehserle's part—he went for his gun and shot it. It was clear as day, yet Mehserle got away with murder. He was given a two-year sentence for "involuntary manslaughter" but only served half of it.
I don't see how anyone could re-interpret this video of the murder of Tamir Rice, let alone the brutal treatment of his traumatized fourteen-year-old sister. How does a grown man, armed to the teeth, look upon a 12-year-old child and in a split second--clearly seen on the video--shoot him and mortally wounding him, then stand around and do nothing? This is nothing more than another lynching--another Emmet Till. Will the real criminals--both cops that stood around watching that child bleed--go to jail, or will the child remain a "criminal" under the law? We must demand justice for Tamir Rice!
I don't see how anyone could re-interpret this video of the murder of Tamir Rice, let alone the brutal treatment of his traumatized fourteen-year-old sister. How does a grown man, armed to the teeth, look upon a 12-year-old child and in a split second--clearly seen on the video--shoot him and mortally wounding him, then stand around and do nothing? This is nothing more than another lynching--another Emmet Till. Will the real criminals--both cops that stood around watching that child bleed--go to jail, or will the child remain a "criminal" under the law? We must demand justice for Tamir Rice!
16
Reasonable people may disagree over whether the officer was justified in shooting this child. Their callous disregard for his well-being and brutality toward his sister in the aftermath is simply amoral.
4
Waiving a (realistic toy) gun, alone, in public urban playground is waiving a (realistic toy) gun, alone, in public urban playground. At age twelve, this is merely immature and ill mannered. Improper etiquette has never been a capital offense in this country.
1
This country seems busy looking at symptoms - not the cause.
yes, the police is to blame here - they could have easily shot to incapacitate - not to kill.
The real problem is the guns in our society - real and fake.
Why do we have so many guns, why is it allowed to have look-alike guns for kids entertainment? Is someone holding the entertainment center, the 'toy' manufacturer responsible?
yes, the police is to blame here - they could have easily shot to incapacitate - not to kill.
The real problem is the guns in our society - real and fake.
Why do we have so many guns, why is it allowed to have look-alike guns for kids entertainment? Is someone holding the entertainment center, the 'toy' manufacturer responsible?
5
The callous inhumanity of these so-called police makes the conduct of an invading army look humane by comparison.
Our American police have turned into a right-wing white army, waging war -- so far, primarily -- on the poor, especially when they are people of color.
Make no mistake. Unless civil authorities step up to stop them and to roll back -- way, way back -- their militarization, this fascist force will soon be waging war on all of us. Even the seditious fundy yahoos at Cliven Bundy's stolen ranch will not be immune from this kind of out-of-control behavior by uniformed police who serve only themselves (looking at you, patrick Lynch), not the public. And not even the government.
Kudos to Bill de Blasio for taking a stand against such armed occupiers of American democracy. Kudos to the people of NYC who elected him.
And kudos to Eric Holder for starting to bring Cleveland PD to account. If it takes more mayors, and more DOJ investigations, we need to make sure these actions and investigations NEVER stop, until democracy is restored, and the armed, anti-civilian police are brought back under control... and justice is meted out to the murderers of Tamir.
Our American police have turned into a right-wing white army, waging war -- so far, primarily -- on the poor, especially when they are people of color.
Make no mistake. Unless civil authorities step up to stop them and to roll back -- way, way back -- their militarization, this fascist force will soon be waging war on all of us. Even the seditious fundy yahoos at Cliven Bundy's stolen ranch will not be immune from this kind of out-of-control behavior by uniformed police who serve only themselves (looking at you, patrick Lynch), not the public. And not even the government.
Kudos to Bill de Blasio for taking a stand against such armed occupiers of American democracy. Kudos to the people of NYC who elected him.
And kudos to Eric Holder for starting to bring Cleveland PD to account. If it takes more mayors, and more DOJ investigations, we need to make sure these actions and investigations NEVER stop, until democracy is restored, and the armed, anti-civilian police are brought back under control... and justice is meted out to the murderers of Tamir.
13
Our police forces also have egotistical power issues but nothing like this! (often) I'm glad I live in Canada!!!
How long did it take these idiots to realize that they had made a mistake; that the pistol was a toy and that the kid was only a kid? The driver kicks Tamir, while the shooter is puking at the back of the car. So why did they feel they had to brutalize Tamir's sister? Are they really that stupid? Or the kids are black and therefore inconsequential?
If these cops get away with this one...I really have no interest in going to your country. Did it really take that many cops to come up with those lies? Good thing you also have so many cameras.
The Cleveland Police hire a cop without reading their employment history??? What's their hiring criteria, "Have you got your own gun?"
How long did it take these idiots to realize that they had made a mistake; that the pistol was a toy and that the kid was only a kid? The driver kicks Tamir, while the shooter is puking at the back of the car. So why did they feel they had to brutalize Tamir's sister? Are they really that stupid? Or the kids are black and therefore inconsequential?
If these cops get away with this one...I really have no interest in going to your country. Did it really take that many cops to come up with those lies? Good thing you also have so many cameras.
The Cleveland Police hire a cop without reading their employment history??? What's their hiring criteria, "Have you got your own gun?"
10
Just when you think it can't get much worse, it does. The Cleveland police hired someone who was known to be mentally unfit to serve, and released him on the public, where in fairly short order he murdered a child. The officer, and his partner, must clearly be brought to justice, but the accountability goes much further than that. One wonders how many other dangerously uncomposed and emotionally unprepared police are out there, especially with so many police being veterans who received no treatment for the damages from war.
11
Why doesn't the NYT respond to this question? A reporter is needed!
2
Why are the two "officers of the law" given no credit for not having shot the unarmed sister of the victim ? A Staten Island or St Louis D.A. could easily have spun the attempt to go to the aid of her brother, as a clear and present danger to two armed men.
5
Makes me wonder if they wanted him to die so he couldn't tell his side of the story. Tackled his sister so she couldn't be a witness either.
12
Putting aside the horrific, senseless death of this child, and the callousness with which he and his young sister were treated, I find it deeply disturbing that this police officer apparently had a paper trail from previous employment that would've indicated quite clearly that he was not up to the task of performing his role as a responsible, conscientious police officer. Is it typical for departments to apparently take his application at face value and not do a quick check with his most recent employer to verify his fitness for the job? Is that an outlier, something far outside the norm? Did he intentionally obscure his previous place of work in an attempt to avoid the risk of being disqualified as a hire? How on earth did someone so unfit for duty get hired at a decent-sized city police force - and is this something that needs to be scrutinized more closely elsewhere?
My small city here in FL recently had only the fourth police fatality in the line of duty in the city's history. The most recent one prior to this was back in 1969. By all accounts, the officer, a married man with 6 children, in his mid-40s, was a terrific man and a highly respected cop. The kind of cop who is praised even by the people he'd ticketed, as a fair, honest, decent guy. Seems like the US needs more like him, and fewer like the young cop who killed this child - a man who clearly shouldn't have been a police officer, period.
My small city here in FL recently had only the fourth police fatality in the line of duty in the city's history. The most recent one prior to this was back in 1969. By all accounts, the officer, a married man with 6 children, in his mid-40s, was a terrific man and a highly respected cop. The kind of cop who is praised even by the people he'd ticketed, as a fair, honest, decent guy. Seems like the US needs more like him, and fewer like the young cop who killed this child - a man who clearly shouldn't have been a police officer, period.
7
Yes, sir-ree! How much more cogent an argument can there be?
A Warning to all Parents and Caretakers-----When you buy a gun a toy gun pellet gun or even a water gun for your child be aware that you may be putting their lives at risk when they play with that gun outside of your home. A Cop may consider that toy gun a deadly weapon and feel threatened and hence may kill your child too! Think about clearly before you make that purchase---as there are bad cops everywhere and they do come in different skin tones!
3
Based on the 2012 Cleveland police chase which ended with 13 officers firing 137 shots and killing 2 people and the killing of Tamir Rice, I wonder how Cleveland can make a serious argument for people visiting or relocating there. The City is obviously troubled and I would recommend that the Republican Party withdraw its commitment to have its 2016 convention in Cleveland. My concern is that, in an effort to impress the Republicans, the Cleveland police will be even more heavy handed in their maintaining "safety." Think Chicago 1968.
3
It has become increasingly clear that numerous police officers in many of your cities are a pack of uniformed racist goons totally out of control, and as recent events at those two funerals in NYC showed, unwilling to be reformed. At a Federal level, the US government needs to begin to take this problem seriously and legislate programs of re-education along with new hiring and firing practices and new protocols for dealing with sub-emergency situations that bring these excesses to a halt. While such police are State and Municipal jurisdictions, to an important extent how they work overlaps areas of Federal interest and jurisdiction. If the US body politic does not bring the occurrence of these egregious excesses to an end, you cannot count yourselves as equals amongst viable civilized democracies.
12
One could make an argument that this boy, no different than me at his age, was either set up or the victim of a politically correct complaint. Let's explore how that possibility exists among naive friends and community in the next installment, please.
So one of these cops is not just murderous but severely negligent too! Failure to attend to this child concludes the negligence. And one of these cops has anger and emotional issues so what on this Earth was he doing out on the beat and with a loaded gun???
Neither of them are fit to be on the street with their badge and gun as they kill innocent children with toy guns! I wonder did they too play with toy guns as children. And Yes, If I lived there I would demand their dismissal from the force as well as sue them for taking the life of a child away for no actual purpose whatsoever! THEY WERE TOLD That It Was a TOY GUN!
Neither of them are fit to be on the street with their badge and gun as they kill innocent children with toy guns! I wonder did they too play with toy guns as children. And Yes, If I lived there I would demand their dismissal from the force as well as sue them for taking the life of a child away for no actual purpose whatsoever! THEY WERE TOLD That It Was a TOY GUN!
6
That kid shot in the abdomen didn't get care in time to save his life? He wasn't dead? They had to tackle his 14 year old sister and hand cuff her in the car before getting help for the 12 year old they just gut shot? I've seen the video, there is no time to say "put your hands up" the police officer just gets out and shoots as fast as he can. This is just cold blooded murder and I'm sick of it. And where is that story on the NAACP in Boulder?
5
Colorado Springs, and it is elsewhere in the US section of the NYT.
My understanding of the way guns are used is that when you decide to pull the trigger, it is because you want your target dead. The concept that police or the good guys "wing" the bad guy so he drops his gun is strictly a fantasy of movies and television. When the officer pulled the trigger on this boy, he had already decided that he wanted Tamir Rice dead. I see no reason why the officers present would then decide to render any aid to someone they intended to kill. There job is to call in an ambulance to clean up the mess. Of course this would not have been an issue at all had Tamir had the fortune to have white skin, in which case the cops would have just told him to go play somewhere else as he was annoying people.
4
This is the kind of behavior that your yesterday's op ed columnist justifies. He's busy justifying murder while the rest of us question the competence of the police and their insistence on shooting first and thinking--never.
2
I am a former police reporter now a journalism teacher. I witnessed the police response to an aggravated assault by a disturbed man at a big box store in Pocatello, Idaho, about eight years ago.
A man, armed with a knife, attacked a woman inside the store, slashing her and chasing her.
Two officers arrived in minutes and were in the parking lot as the man ran out of the store knife in hand. The officers moved toward him and I braced myself for what I was convinced would be an officer-involved shooting.
And then it happened. The officers shot the man with bean bag guns knocking him to the ground, stunning him. They rushed in, kicked the knife away and cuffed him.
Those officers were well-trained, cool - headed and professional. The woman who had been attacked was given aid and taken to a local hospital by paramedics.
I covered a half dozen police departments as a reporter. I never saw the levels of excess then that I see now. I think looks like a culture of us against everybody else has crept in. Some officers and their departments and their unions seem to act like they are under seige by the very people they are supposed to serve. Today, many people respond to critical inquiry into police conduct by telling them to go serve in "the 'hood." Few officers serve in "combat zones," but apologists throw that out as an excuse for any example of officer misconduct.
I can't think of any of the officers I dealt with as a reporter who would have imagined what we see today.
A man, armed with a knife, attacked a woman inside the store, slashing her and chasing her.
Two officers arrived in minutes and were in the parking lot as the man ran out of the store knife in hand. The officers moved toward him and I braced myself for what I was convinced would be an officer-involved shooting.
And then it happened. The officers shot the man with bean bag guns knocking him to the ground, stunning him. They rushed in, kicked the knife away and cuffed him.
Those officers were well-trained, cool - headed and professional. The woman who had been attacked was given aid and taken to a local hospital by paramedics.
I covered a half dozen police departments as a reporter. I never saw the levels of excess then that I see now. I think looks like a culture of us against everybody else has crept in. Some officers and their departments and their unions seem to act like they are under seige by the very people they are supposed to serve. Today, many people respond to critical inquiry into police conduct by telling them to go serve in "the 'hood." Few officers serve in "combat zones," but apologists throw that out as an excuse for any example of officer misconduct.
I can't think of any of the officers I dealt with as a reporter who would have imagined what we see today.
10
This is a case of murder, plain and simple. The 12 year old boy was shot so quickly after the car stopped that the police didn't have time to say anything or determine what he was holding. The treatment of his sister is atrocious. A lifetime in prison is what these two deserve.
11
Black skin, especially black skin wrapped around a male structure, is one of the most frightening elements in this society. We appear to have entered an apartheid-like, South Africa syndrome in which certain ignorant whites who have benefited from the hard work of marginalizing and criminalizing a black populace - fear the reprisals of those who have been marginalized and criminalized for centuries. A tragic societal mobius loop. Are there people compassionate, smart and/or well-connected enough to safely deactivate a future of explosion? We can only hope.
10
The brief description of this story under the headline reads:
"After one officer shot Tamir Rice, 12, he and another officer stood by and did not help the wounded boy. An officer also tackled the boy's sister."
On the death of Eric Garner in New York City, Wikipedia reports:
After Pantaleo removed his arm from Garner's neck, he pushed Garner's head into the ground while four officers moved to restrain Garner, who repeated "I can't breathe" eleven times while lying facedown on the sidewalk. After Garner lost consciousness, officers turned him onto his side to ease his breathing. Garner remained lying on the sidewalk for seven minutes while the officers waited for an ambulance to arrive. The officers and EMTs did not perform CPR on Garner at the scene.
callous: showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others
"After one officer shot Tamir Rice, 12, he and another officer stood by and did not help the wounded boy. An officer also tackled the boy's sister."
On the death of Eric Garner in New York City, Wikipedia reports:
After Pantaleo removed his arm from Garner's neck, he pushed Garner's head into the ground while four officers moved to restrain Garner, who repeated "I can't breathe" eleven times while lying facedown on the sidewalk. After Garner lost consciousness, officers turned him onto his side to ease his breathing. Garner remained lying on the sidewalk for seven minutes while the officers waited for an ambulance to arrive. The officers and EMTs did not perform CPR on Garner at the scene.
callous: showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others
7
A 12-year old boy with a gun that a bystander called "probably fake."
It boggles the mind that within two seconds of opening his door, an emotionally incompetent police officer pulled his gun a shot a 12-year old boy. He must have already had his gun out prepared to fire to kill him so quickly.
Did the officers drive so closely to where the boy stood, instead of remaining at a safer distance, to get a better shot? To whisper in his ear? To ascertain if the gun was fake?
Did they render no assistance because they wanted him to die, or did they just not care? Once shot, the "gun" safely away, they had a duty to try to save him.
12 years old...
It boggles the mind that within two seconds of opening his door, an emotionally incompetent police officer pulled his gun a shot a 12-year old boy. He must have already had his gun out prepared to fire to kill him so quickly.
Did the officers drive so closely to where the boy stood, instead of remaining at a safer distance, to get a better shot? To whisper in his ear? To ascertain if the gun was fake?
Did they render no assistance because they wanted him to die, or did they just not care? Once shot, the "gun" safely away, they had a duty to try to save him.
12 years old...
5
Such a wanton disregard for the life of any human being, much less a child, says a lot not only about some policemen' dehumanization of black lives, but our society as a whole. How anyone can justify such savagery and disregard for life is beyond me. The question shouldn't be whether these cops should be prosecuted, but how many years they spend behind bars in a real prison.
And just for clarification for those who find some kind of convuluted logic to excuse even the most egregious police shootings, the often used excuse that someone reached for a gun just doesn't square with common sense. Why would you reach for a gun that you know isn't real unless you're trying to commit suicide-by-police? The same logic can be applied when cops says someone pointed a gun at them, forcing them to shoot. Why would you point a gun and not shoot? Are these cops so fast on the draw and so proficient that they can allow someone to point a gun at them and shoot them before they can pull the trigger. Preposterous!
And just for clarification for those who find some kind of convuluted logic to excuse even the most egregious police shootings, the often used excuse that someone reached for a gun just doesn't square with common sense. Why would you reach for a gun that you know isn't real unless you're trying to commit suicide-by-police? The same logic can be applied when cops says someone pointed a gun at them, forcing them to shoot. Why would you point a gun and not shoot? Are these cops so fast on the draw and so proficient that they can allow someone to point a gun at them and shoot them before they can pull the trigger. Preposterous!
5
First of all lets make sure that if we have to have these ridiculous look-alike play guns given to children that they better be fully aware of the risks that are involved.
That having been said I view this as so much more serious that Ferguson where I always gave some reasonable doubt to the officer that may have thought himself in danger.
This was not a large sized man but indeed a child who deserved the human respect of concern after he had been shot, probably too quickly and unnecessarily. That this young officer was hired without the proper checks is outrageous. Yes we have a lot of good police officers, but the power dynamics and adrenalin rush also attract far too many wrong candidates who have to be weeded out and tested repeatedly to make sure they can still meet the demands of a very stressful job which may mean life or death for not only the policeman but for innocent civilians as well.
That having been said I view this as so much more serious that Ferguson where I always gave some reasonable doubt to the officer that may have thought himself in danger.
This was not a large sized man but indeed a child who deserved the human respect of concern after he had been shot, probably too quickly and unnecessarily. That this young officer was hired without the proper checks is outrageous. Yes we have a lot of good police officers, but the power dynamics and adrenalin rush also attract far too many wrong candidates who have to be weeded out and tested repeatedly to make sure they can still meet the demands of a very stressful job which may mean life or death for not only the policeman but for innocent civilians as well.
3
Most police deserve and need our deep public support. It's a tragedy that the poor, even brutal practice of some cops make such support so difficult to render.
Unionized or not, police are public servants, accountable as such. This story is unbelievably brutal. If a grand jury throws this case out, barring any deeper investigation, then we need to stop trumpeting our ostensible commitment to the glorious "rule of law."
www.endthemadnessnow.org
Unionized or not, police are public servants, accountable as such. This story is unbelievably brutal. If a grand jury throws this case out, barring any deeper investigation, then we need to stop trumpeting our ostensible commitment to the glorious "rule of law."
www.endthemadnessnow.org
13
Fire the officers without pay and charge them with murder. They are clearly unfit to be in our society.
6
Every time I read this story, it sickens me. His family will never recover from this. Grieving a child, hurts , physically. I know, my son died almost 15 years ago and I love and miss him every day in hundreds of ways.
7
The officers were put on restricted duty??? Both of those bums should be charged and tried for murder. It's about time this sort of foul crud in police departments were weeded out and fired, and, when they perform a criminal act like shooting an innocent person, the fact that they are police should give not give them one iota of protection from being criminally charged. Blue uniform or not, such bums are criminals and deserve to be treated as such.
6
All those who are citing this dreadful and heartbreaking case as some kind of exception--"What happened to Tamir was different. It's not like what happened to Michael Brown. This is one I can care about"--these people need to remember that in this case, as in so many others, the perpetrators wove an elaborate, deeply dishonest narrative of justification, conjuring up a dark violent individual who had to be brought down.
And if there hadn't been a camera present, they would very likely have gotten away with it.
So powerful is the pro-cop, anti-victim narrative that in the early days after Tamir's slaughter, even as the tape came to light, a right-leaning newspaper consortium in Ohio (owners of the once-proud Cleveland Plain Dealer) devoted a great deal of time and effort to trashing the child's parents, raising questions about the child himself, and whitewashing the incompetent young cop who had murdered the child.
In the end, in fact, there was a camera. It showed a picture worth more than a thousand words of agit-prop, racist narrative, and official justification.
Yet even now, so intractable is the racial narrative in this country (and so thoroughly have we inoculated bad cops from the rule of law) that many white reactionaries--recalling how easy it was to use the power of the word and the media megaphone to persuade people that Michael Brown "deserved" his death--continue to insist that Tamir (like Eric Garner, like John Crawford), somehow "deserved" his.
And if there hadn't been a camera present, they would very likely have gotten away with it.
So powerful is the pro-cop, anti-victim narrative that in the early days after Tamir's slaughter, even as the tape came to light, a right-leaning newspaper consortium in Ohio (owners of the once-proud Cleveland Plain Dealer) devoted a great deal of time and effort to trashing the child's parents, raising questions about the child himself, and whitewashing the incompetent young cop who had murdered the child.
In the end, in fact, there was a camera. It showed a picture worth more than a thousand words of agit-prop, racist narrative, and official justification.
Yet even now, so intractable is the racial narrative in this country (and so thoroughly have we inoculated bad cops from the rule of law) that many white reactionaries--recalling how easy it was to use the power of the word and the media megaphone to persuade people that Michael Brown "deserved" his death--continue to insist that Tamir (like Eric Garner, like John Crawford), somehow "deserved" his.
5
no way the cop had time to evaluate the situation. it is obvious he shot first and asked questions later. This guy needs to get convicted of intentional homicide and his partner needs to be convicted of failure to render aid, a felony in most states. Criminal, criminal, criminal. This is the case that demonstrates what people are upset about not Michael Brown.
8
Pardon me, Tamir had a first responder at his side within four minutes and an ambulance an EMT services within 8 minutes? Anyone who has has called for an ambulance knows this is an amazing response time. Makes you wonder who called the ambulance, doesn't it?
Can anyone who has watched this video, watched these two men shoot a child, fail to render him aid, throw his 14 year old sister to the ground, handcuff her and throw her in the back of their car -- can anyone who has watched this video honestly say they do not believe that racism, conscious or unconscious, played a role? If you think there is no racism here, then you must think these two men have no humanity whatsoever. I believe otherwise -- I believe there are people in these men's world who are fully human to them, and whom they would never, ever treat this way. I believe these men have been psychologically damaged by racism in our society, such that they behaved in the way we see in this video. The only way to heal is to recognize the problem. Our society remains sick with racism, and we must always be working to change this.
6
Well, we know that one thing the police are good at nowadays is turning their backs.
5
Tim Loehmann told his father that he applied for the Cleveland police force because he "wanted more action." It's all a game, to too many of these Call of Duty wannabe idiots. Give them a gun and let them loose on the general public and you better like it because their jobs are HARD, you guys!
I don't know what makes me more angry. The depraved, sadistic actions of these police or their enablers who refuse to care or notice. "More action." I guess he got it, eh?
I don't know what makes me more angry. The depraved, sadistic actions of these police or their enablers who refuse to care or notice. "More action." I guess he got it, eh?
8
Police like to talk about how they "put their lives on the line every day"...turns out it's actually children and cartoonists who are putting their lives on the line every day! Meanwhile cops in NYC begin a work slowdown to show their solidarity against due process and accountability.
6
To those who say that the officers couldn't have done anything to help the child, I say, they could have acted like any other human being would and , at the very least, held that boy's hand and comforted him while he lay there dying. Of course, their police training doesn't include how to treat others with humanity.
7
There are times when I feel that my capacity for outrage has been so overtaxed that it just can't respond anymore. Then something so truly outrageous happens and it recharge it (not something that I particularly enjoy).
This is one of those things. Will there never come a time when the decency left in our world simply overwhelms cruelty, indifference, bureaucratic waffling, and casual injustice to not only punish the perpetrators of this horror (I use "perp" deliberately) but the superiors who allowed these misfits to carry badges and guns, but take positive and proactive steps to make it highly unlikely to happen again?
This is one of those things. Will there never come a time when the decency left in our world simply overwhelms cruelty, indifference, bureaucratic waffling, and casual injustice to not only punish the perpetrators of this horror (I use "perp" deliberately) but the superiors who allowed these misfits to carry badges and guns, but take positive and proactive steps to make it highly unlikely to happen again?
7
The police who shot the boy and stood around while he died should be charged with murder and put away for life. Absolutely no excuse for what he and his partner did. They are a disgrace to America and the police forces of this country.
9
Why should anyone be surprised? Cops are average to less than average people. They do not give aid because policing is a "manly" form of employment and many or most cops do not like to touch the people they shoot or arrest. Clearly it breaches a social and psychological barrier which allows them to use deadly violence on strangers. if they then had to stop and give these persons aid it would be an admission of common humanity and possibility It would also be an admission that persons who they readily shoot at to kill them, may not
be quite deserving of being shot.
The thinking seems to be: How the heck can a cop shoot someone with the intent to kill , and then turn around in a few seconds and treat that same person as a wounded, morally neutral "patient", rather then as a guilty, morally inferior "perpetrator"?
To aid a wounded person one shoots implies that perhaps shooting them was the wrong response.
Police and, for that matter most people, are incapable of such swift changes in thinking.
To see this manifested in our entertainment system, watch TV cops and count how many of our imaginary police ever shoot someone and then subsequently stop to render or offer any aid.
be quite deserving of being shot.
The thinking seems to be: How the heck can a cop shoot someone with the intent to kill , and then turn around in a few seconds and treat that same person as a wounded, morally neutral "patient", rather then as a guilty, morally inferior "perpetrator"?
To aid a wounded person one shoots implies that perhaps shooting them was the wrong response.
Police and, for that matter most people, are incapable of such swift changes in thinking.
To see this manifested in our entertainment system, watch TV cops and count how many of our imaginary police ever shoot someone and then subsequently stop to render or offer any aid.
5
Don't forget to hold the Mayor accountable. The police in all American cities and towns are beholden legally to the executive (Mayor, Administrator, etc). Far too often the media don't even consider the mayor to be a part of the problem. Look again.
It seems that several things have created a culture of " shoot first, question later" among the police: 1. The sheer number of weapons on the street inducing fear in officers of being shot first (or ambushed!);2 The militarization of the police in which force over reason is a culture change; 3.The lack of effective punishment as a deterrence for wanton police actions; 4. The vilification of minorities as the "dangerous ones" in our society ( stop and frisk policies). Now with so many states passing open carry laws and "stand your ground" laws ( when will the cops turn their backs on state legislators?) we can add in the confusion about the actual role of the police itself when citizens are encouraged one way or another to take the law into their own hands.
2
Wow. The worst psychopathic criminal at least has the conscience to run away after committing a crime. These police officers just sitting around without a care in the world are at a rung below that level. At this point I don't even care if they end up in prison or not. Law enforcement entities across the country just need to ensure that this never happens again. And when I say never, I mean never. One incident like this is too many.
4
It's probably a safe bet that the grand jury considering this matter will decline to indict the officers for what looks like a callous and senseless killing of a 12 year old boy.
It's time to take police shooting investigations away from local district attorneys, who have a clear conflict of interest in investigating the very people they depend on as essential components of their duties.
The American criminal justice system itself has become an impediment to public safety and order. Serious reform is need across the board.
Failure to reform American criminal justice will have destructive consequences.
It's time to take police shooting investigations away from local district attorneys, who have a clear conflict of interest in investigating the very people they depend on as essential components of their duties.
The American criminal justice system itself has become an impediment to public safety and order. Serious reform is need across the board.
Failure to reform American criminal justice will have destructive consequences.
7
If anyone should be outraged at this behavior, it should be the police. Instances like this continue to malign the many officers who put their lives on the line every day to maintain peace and order in our society. Where are their voices? Why are they not speaking out?
39
At least in New York, sad to say, the police are too busy acting like petulant children having temper tantrums, and following the incendiary lead of their brutish PBA President, Patrick Lynch. This means that too many officers are demonstrating kindergarten tactics by turning their backs on Mayro DiBlasio, ignoring the directives of Commissioner Bratton not to do this, and now by refusing to do their jobs. Every one of these officers should be terminated, and Lynch should be removed from his post. None of these officers has the integrity to stand for transparency when it comes to police misconduct and killing of unarmed citizens, children and adults alike.
10
This story so saddens me....A 12 year old boy with a play toy gun has lost his life and the officers rendered no aid after the shooting. Even if it had been a real gun, aid should have been rendered. No one should be allowed to lie with a gunshot wound without aid. As a mother, I cannot imagine the grief of his mother and sister. Such a senseless and wasted death. The only good that MAY come out of this is if the policy community as a whole begins to change how they approach all residents, regardless of color or ethnicity.
2
These two men are cold-blooded killers. Quite possibly, sociopaths.
They do not belong in uniform, or in any role involving any kind of interaction with the people they swore to protect.
Manslaughter as a minimum. (Ironic, of course... this was not a man, but a boy.)
They do not belong in uniform, or in any role involving any kind of interaction with the people they swore to protect.
Manslaughter as a minimum. (Ironic, of course... this was not a man, but a boy.)
4
Both the officers should be charged with murder. Such a disgusting situation. In a case such as this, massive protest is necessary.
3
Meanwhile, in NYC, the police are so offended by the people they volunteered to "serve and protect" that they feel it is appropriate to literally turn their backs on the democratically elected mayor of said city. In so doing, they have made a mockery go themselves.
Wearing the color blue doesn't put you above the citizens you are sworn to protect. The shameful stoppage of work in NYC will win you no respect as you loiter in the streets while collecting unearned paychecks.
Shame.
Wearing the color blue doesn't put you above the citizens you are sworn to protect. The shameful stoppage of work in NYC will win you no respect as you loiter in the streets while collecting unearned paychecks.
Shame.
4
I understand, not all police officers are such insensible monsters.
I hope, there would be less such cops soon.
I think the problem is selection. Cops say 'only best people serve here'. That's not true. Many officers suffer from lack of professionalism and moral qualities. NYPD officers should have special physiological preparation and special tests. Reform should be strict and extensive.
The last time we here about police and authorities 'misunderstanding'.
Authorities are stupid, they don't understand they are making even worse.
Not stupid conversations and accusations will improve the situation, but a reform.
I hope, there would be less such cops soon.
I think the problem is selection. Cops say 'only best people serve here'. That's not true. Many officers suffer from lack of professionalism and moral qualities. NYPD officers should have special physiological preparation and special tests. Reform should be strict and extensive.
The last time we here about police and authorities 'misunderstanding'.
Authorities are stupid, they don't understand they are making even worse.
Not stupid conversations and accusations will improve the situation, but a reform.
2
Perhaps now Steve Osborne, author of "Why We Are So Mad at de Blasio", now understands why we are so mad.
A man deemed to have a "dangerous loss of composure" is dressed in a uniform, handed a gun, and given a license to kill. How is that supposed to help me trust the men in blue?
A man deemed to have a "dangerous loss of composure" is dressed in a uniform, handed a gun, and given a license to kill. How is that supposed to help me trust the men in blue?
4
Steroided muscle guys and PTSD-suffering vets returning from the last generation's wars overseas--they're who are becoming cops in this country in today's society, and they are bringing, and bringing down, all their pent-up aggression and anger on the citizens they are supposed to protect, both psychologically and physically.
4
Police, piece officer, NYPD.
Whatever you call them, things never change.
We need reforms!
Our police has become too aggressive. Their shields makes them tough guys?
Whatever you call them, things never change.
We need reforms!
Our police has become too aggressive. Their shields makes them tough guys?
1
Union power strikes again.
Most teachers are competent professionals motivated to excel at their difficult task. That effort and their reputation is severely damaged by a few that would be gone if not for Union protection. Likewise, the cop on the beat.
The profession attracts a type that requires careful cultivation. If the society that exists in the security they protect would pay these heroes a decent living wage in keeping with their importance, the profession would attract a better caliber of recruits. Fewer bad seeds to start with.
But like the teaching profession that now is paying right but handcuffed from delivering results, the Police Unions will likewise fight culling the bad seeds.
Public Unions. The very formula for corruption, incompetence and waste. Delivering you bad schools, bad cops, bad roads, BAD GOVERNMENT.
Most teachers are competent professionals motivated to excel at their difficult task. That effort and their reputation is severely damaged by a few that would be gone if not for Union protection. Likewise, the cop on the beat.
The profession attracts a type that requires careful cultivation. If the society that exists in the security they protect would pay these heroes a decent living wage in keeping with their importance, the profession would attract a better caliber of recruits. Fewer bad seeds to start with.
But like the teaching profession that now is paying right but handcuffed from delivering results, the Police Unions will likewise fight culling the bad seeds.
Public Unions. The very formula for corruption, incompetence and waste. Delivering you bad schools, bad cops, bad roads, BAD GOVERNMENT.
THe Police Union has guns and gets to bully mayors, but that's not the point is it. the child died
3
I could accept the officers were not sure whether Tamir had a real gun, or not. Their job is a difficult one where snap decisions are needed.
However, I can't I understand why if they thought their lives could be in danger they drove right on top of the young man instead of taking a more defensive position.
The milling around of various officers, violent detention of his sister, just feet from Tamir, lack of immediate medical care, showed a level of callousness and ineptitude no one would believe without the video.
However, I can't I understand why if they thought their lives could be in danger they drove right on top of the young man instead of taking a more defensive position.
The milling around of various officers, violent detention of his sister, just feet from Tamir, lack of immediate medical care, showed a level of callousness and ineptitude no one would believe without the video.
32
Tamir was an extremely unfortunate 'Perfect Storm' - woefully unqualified officer, poor 911 communications, man-sized 12 yr old, criminal marketing of realistic 'toys', lack of first-aid of any kind [9 hours to die?], impossibility of knowing if that playground was emptied by 'fear' of Tamir or normal situation...
1
Rolling out all the excuses possible including the supposed size of the child doesn't change the fact that the cops killed a child and watched him suffer. Period.
6
This is one of the most reprehensible shootings I have ever read about. A young boy is shot by a policeman who was previously advised that it was probably a pellet gun the boy was carrying. Then the cop has the audacity to stand around without thinking of checking on the boy. If these officers aren't charged with murder and punished with appropriate jail time, I will have lost faith completely in our criminal justice system. Too many of our cops seem to have adopted the thinking of the wild wild West. Cops like this latest example of police brutality do not belong on any police force anywhere. My sympathy is directed toward the family of this youngster.
4
The degree to which people in uniform feel a sense of impunity on our over-militarized culture is amply illustrated by this shocking case.
3
It ought not be difficult to establish whether these officers followed established procedures following the use of deadly force. If they followed procedures, shame on the department and superiors for whacky procedures. If they didn't follow procedures, shame and punishment to the officers.
1
I hate all killings including those of police officers, but until the police in this country are brought under control my response to the shooting of cops is going to be the same as their response to the killing of innocent people by police. I'm going to shrug and say "so what"?
2
A Milwaukee police officer recently killed a man in a park, near a Starbucks who had complained the man was "there" basically. Two police officers previously had seen the man and reported everything was fine.
The man, who had issues with mental illness had done nothing, before being approached, but was just "there" period. When an officer started getting physical with him, he was startled and grabbed the officer's baton. The man was shot 14 times by the officer and died.
Ruling? Self defense for the officer.
The officer was fired - but not held to any legal wrong doing.
Now the officer wants 75% of his salary paid to him, for life, tax free, because he claims he has a disability. Isn't that just the frosting on the cake? Taxpayers are supposed to set this guy up financially for the rest of his life because he murdered a man who was doing nothing wrong, a man who had previously been checked out by comrades.
For some reason, we have a societal obligation to this police officer when he did not seem to have a societal obligation for his wrong doing?
The officers who could not even provide medical aid to a 12 year old boy standing with a toy gun, who they murdered, also do not deserve societal obligation. They don't deserve to be on any kind of duty - nothing.
Police officers are getting paid to protect. What kind of protection do we see going on in these examples? Some officers do not seem to be able to distinguish what that means. There lies a problem.
The man, who had issues with mental illness had done nothing, before being approached, but was just "there" period. When an officer started getting physical with him, he was startled and grabbed the officer's baton. The man was shot 14 times by the officer and died.
Ruling? Self defense for the officer.
The officer was fired - but not held to any legal wrong doing.
Now the officer wants 75% of his salary paid to him, for life, tax free, because he claims he has a disability. Isn't that just the frosting on the cake? Taxpayers are supposed to set this guy up financially for the rest of his life because he murdered a man who was doing nothing wrong, a man who had previously been checked out by comrades.
For some reason, we have a societal obligation to this police officer when he did not seem to have a societal obligation for his wrong doing?
The officers who could not even provide medical aid to a 12 year old boy standing with a toy gun, who they murdered, also do not deserve societal obligation. They don't deserve to be on any kind of duty - nothing.
Police officers are getting paid to protect. What kind of protection do we see going on in these examples? Some officers do not seem to be able to distinguish what that means. There lies a problem.
8
Unconscionable....appalling....immoral.... and ultimately, it should be criminal, although the laws are created and crafted to absolve authorities in such circumstances of any responsibility whatsoever. The nation has lost its values to be sure!
1
There are many good police officers but can we PLEASE agree that there are quite a few bad and uncaring ones?
1
Honestly part of this can be blamed on the anti-gun crowd and their irrational fear of inanimate objects. Due to the never ending anti 2nd amendment bombardment followed by sensationalism, fear mongering and propaganda the days of kids playing cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, and 'army' is long gone. Apparently these days when someone sees someone with anything even remotely resembling a gun they are going to freak out and call the cops.
Oh please. The cop killed a kid, how is that even remotely the fault of the caller
5
Nice attempt to change the subject. When you're done reminiscing, how about a little blame for the guy who pulled the trigger? Guns don't kill people, right? People do? Haven't we been hearing that for decades now?
2
Accountability, that's is all we ask for.
What the US needs is another mass movement for civil rights. Given the frequency with which such events occur there is little reason to believe in the capacity of the government to do something. The question is, is there a single leader (of any color) that even begins to approach Dr King's stature? Is there anyone skilful enough to use and persist with non-violent means of protest?
1
You want professional cops? You want good policing? Pay for it. Sophistication is costly. People with the right temperament and education require good salaries. Such people do not moonlight as guards at gas stations. That means that more than revenue from the sale of lottery tickets is needed for the country to afford professional superior police forces. If not, the country must continue to tolerate unprofessionalism and suffer clueless Cops. You get what you pay for
1
It is likely that CPR and basic first aid were additional areas in which these "officer's" training was deficient.
I have long held that the right to bear arms was important because I did not feel that the police could adequately protect private citizens. I increasingly see the right to bear arms as important to allow private citizens to protect themselves from the police.
I have long held that the right to bear arms was important because I did not feel that the police could adequately protect private citizens. I increasingly see the right to bear arms as important to allow private citizens to protect themselves from the police.
Only if you try to protect yourself, even raising an arm to block a body blow, you can be killed for defending yourself from the cops---it's called resisting arrest.
4
Is it possible that police officers are not trained in First Aid and CPR??? I can't believe this. If this is true, then the police are woefully unprepared for anything - how could they not have this training? Do they not aid their colleagues when they have been injured? Of all people, the police should have this very basic training.
Regarding this egregious incident - it is evidence of just about every criticism of the police one can imagine: hiring issues (not using the background check??), lack of training (how to approach an individual who 'might' have a gun), lack of training about human development (how to tell if an individual is a child/adolescent or is exhibiting child-like or adolescent behavior), how to control one's own internal racist feelings (maybe this should be more overt???), how to act once a shot has been fired (no First Aid and CPR training???), how to deal with innocent (young) bystanders, etc. The list goes on and on.
The police department needs to have its procedures from A - Z completely overhauled so that everyone can begin to trust them - and most especially so that African-Americans can feel that the police are there to protect them. I cannot imagine having to teach my children to be terrified of the police, yet I am certain this is what African-American parents have to do every day.
Regarding this egregious incident - it is evidence of just about every criticism of the police one can imagine: hiring issues (not using the background check??), lack of training (how to approach an individual who 'might' have a gun), lack of training about human development (how to tell if an individual is a child/adolescent or is exhibiting child-like or adolescent behavior), how to control one's own internal racist feelings (maybe this should be more overt???), how to act once a shot has been fired (no First Aid and CPR training???), how to deal with innocent (young) bystanders, etc. The list goes on and on.
The police department needs to have its procedures from A - Z completely overhauled so that everyone can begin to trust them - and most especially so that African-Americans can feel that the police are there to protect them. I cannot imagine having to teach my children to be terrified of the police, yet I am certain this is what African-American parents have to do every day.
2
The police stood there in hopes Tamir would die! I am saddened beyond words, disgusted by our culture and institutional backing of ongoing blatant and subtle racism, and tired of calm rhetoric on this. Had this been a wealthy 12 year old white boy these police officers would have already lost their badges, there would be numerous public apologies, and congress would probably be ready to pass federal laws on use of firearms in the line of duty.
We need to do something about this
We need to do something about this
2
This is outright racism. Call it what you want, but we folks down South know it when we see it.
4
Police are trained to place cuffed subjects subjects in the patrol vehicle. You cannot run up to officers if they do not know who you are. The rest though I cannot discern: details are of a police response to a complaint of a young man running around a public place with a toy gun which was at one point altered by removing an orange muzzle cap to make it not look like it was a toy. Predictable outcome, not the first time, won't be the last.
Who could predict that these cops are such animals that they would watch a kid bleeding on the ground from a gun they fired and not even help.
4
Can you discern why they stood around like they're waiting for a bus while the kid lay dying?
3
It looks like a drive by shooting to me. But what do you expect in a country rampant with guns? A police officer has every reason to feel threatened and shoot first to think later. This is not about the police but about US society. Am glad my 19 year old coloured son lives savely in Europe.
1
All folks want is for their children to get a fair shake at growing up. When they are children they want their kids to the benefit of the doubt that is given to other children. Why is the shoot first ask questions later style of policing mostly done in neighborhoods where parents of the victims are powerless. Really a more diverse police force does little to change the culture of the powerful abusing the powerless. Only when the haves tell the police that havenots lives also matter will things change. Listen to silence in New York of haves as the PBA puts the mayor in his place. The silence is indicative of their want not to antagonize the protectors of their affluence. What has been overlooked by so many in the Garner case in Staten Island is there was a female black SGT there. Why didn't she stop what was happening I guess because what they was doing wasn't the first time it was done.
1
Deeply disturbing. Frenzied, reckless, and sadistic.
Both of these men show core personality traits and behaviors that clearly underscore they were never fit to be police officers, and that any well trained police department would have immediately been alarmed by and rejected.
Both of these men show core personality traits and behaviors that clearly underscore they were never fit to be police officers, and that any well trained police department would have immediately been alarmed by and rejected.
1
Of great concern is that this unconscionable behavior by the police has become the norm. When in need, who should Black citizens turn to for help?
3
I'm finding it hard to find words for this. None seem deep enough to describe just how much trouble we're in. What we are witnessing is corruption. Corruption of the soul, if either of these cops have one. Have we heard enough lies from these police officers and the police departments who defend their lies? I'm tired of being told that what I've seen on camera didn't happen. And I've have had enough of the indignation from police departments because we've have the audacity to protest this corruption. We are paying for in more ways than one. Those who've expressed their outrage are not to blame for the officer's deaths in New York. For God's sake, indict police officers who are violent and irresponsible. Take them to court like anybody else who's violent and irresponsible. They have destroyed the people's trust and the trust and dignity that good cops deserve.
1
Like Ferguson, Cleveland is majority black. But the district attorney's office is countywide and Cuyahoga County is majority white. That means the grand jurors who decide this case will likely be majority white. The virtually universal practice of electing district attorneys by county tends to dilute the influence of majority black cities in favor of majority white counties. (all 5 DA's s offices in New York cover districts that are minority black) That is fundamentally unfair and, in some instances may well be purposefully racist.
2
Why is it we do not hear police officers criticizing such conduct? After all such actions tarnish police reputation and the lack of accountablity suggest that police force has a gang mentality.
Police officers must learn to take risk. Every profession has risk. Ask the healthcare professionals treating Ebola patients. It is not just doing time and collecting early pension.
Police officers must learn to take risk. Every profession has risk. Ask the healthcare professionals treating Ebola patients. It is not just doing time and collecting early pension.
3
This was a police murder. It is NOT acceptable, even if the police involved were excited or otherwise "primed for action". It is trigger-finger bad judgement and deserves to be treated with the same zero-tolerance prosecutorial zeal that all the rest of us seem to face when we make abruptly bad decisions. No quarter for this cop!
3
The increasing frequency of these cop killings, at the same time they dare to claim "fear" of their victim, and the absolute impunity they enjoy afterwards, is reaching a boiling point with more and more people in the United States. And the callous behavior afterwards, such as against Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Mike Brown, is proof of their racist view toward Black and Brown people. No excuse. Cleveland police say they didn't do a background check into his past? So why isn't he in jail immediately and charged with murder, now that they know his recorded propensity of dangerous behavior? How can 2 seconds from the time they rush to an obviously unaware boy, to gunning him down be justified? The grand jury farce to cover up police criminality must stop, Ferguson, Cleveland, New York... You know how to really stop it? Jail them, prosecute the way a civilian would be prosecuted if he or she did the same thing. In Albuquerque 26 people murdered in 4 years by police, and despite a DOJ investigation and criticism of the APD, no prosecution never took place. This is why people protest and must continue to protest. It is obvious no city, state or federal government will act. Only a movement that fights for justice will make it happen. According to a new analysis by Liberationnews.org writer Richard Becker, U.S. police kill up to 100 times more people per capita than some European countries, like England. Enough is enough.
1
I grew up and lived in the NYC burbs for 35 years before moving to the midwest last year (to the St Louis area of all places). I was a first responder back east, and that gave me the chance to interact with many police officers. For a time, I thought of becoming a cop (I took written tests for the PAPD and NYPD and got high marks). I used to regret not going further, but don't any longer.
No one can fully understand what police officers see daily, which is (especially in the big cities), humans at their absolute worst. Even the most well intentioned cops have to become jaded after experiencing this day in and day out, so maybe it's time that counseling be required for all officers with no excuses.
Regarding the "militarization" of the police, many cops were (or still are) soldiers. This experience is sought after and is an aid in getting hired, so why are we surprised about this? Until we demand that people applying to become cops have to have more than a high school diploma and get equal or greater preference over military experience, nothing will change.
I used to travel often to Quebec, Canada, and I think they have a better system. Prospective officers have to go to what would be a community college here, where they get a degree and undergo intense training for I believe at least 2 years before they can be hired:
http://www.enpq.qc.ca/nc/en/home.html
We should have a federally mandated minimum educational requirement to become a cop of at least an associates' degree.
No one can fully understand what police officers see daily, which is (especially in the big cities), humans at their absolute worst. Even the most well intentioned cops have to become jaded after experiencing this day in and day out, so maybe it's time that counseling be required for all officers with no excuses.
Regarding the "militarization" of the police, many cops were (or still are) soldiers. This experience is sought after and is an aid in getting hired, so why are we surprised about this? Until we demand that people applying to become cops have to have more than a high school diploma and get equal or greater preference over military experience, nothing will change.
I used to travel often to Quebec, Canada, and I think they have a better system. Prospective officers have to go to what would be a community college here, where they get a degree and undergo intense training for I believe at least 2 years before they can be hired:
http://www.enpq.qc.ca/nc/en/home.html
We should have a federally mandated minimum educational requirement to become a cop of at least an associates' degree.
27
Using recent settlements for unlawful killings by police across the US (what some casual observers might term...executions) and the Cleveland police having hired an officer entirely and obviously unsuited for service and without any background check whatsoever, I think an educated guess as to the amount the Rice family will eventually receive might in compensation and penalties could surpass $100 million USD.
1
The cop shot this kid immediately as the cop got out of the cop car. The cops pulled up right in front of the kid as if they had intention to snuff him. This is not police work, it's an assassination. If you or I had done this to a civilian, we'd already be charged with capital murder. Youtube is full of video showing "rogue" cop behavior all over this country. Which means it's not "rogue" anymore, it's becoming more "regular". As citizens that pay the salaries and pensions of these now apparently quasi-military forces, we must demand that they be subject to the same laws that we all are...
3
lets see....they'll be protected by their union and not lose their pensions?
2
"Restricted duty?" This is why people are protesting, this is why people are angry. Those officers should be on unpaid leave and readying themselves to face a courtroom. There is no reason for this to go to a grand jury. This boy was murdered and the man who murdered him needs to be on trial for that cold-blooded murder now.
3
And the NY police is made at the mayor because he told his son to be careful if he is stopped by the police.
4
NYTimer reporters and editors:
Please stop calling the object Tamir was holding a pellet gun. A pellet gun fires a .177 caliber metal (generally lead, but could be other materials) pellet at nearly the speed of some .22 caliber rounds, with the ability to cause lethal damage. It is indeed a deadly weapon. Tamir was carrying an Airsoft toy, which shoots plastic bb's at a fraction the velocity of a weapon. They simply hit and bounce off. Sometimes they sting a little on bare skin. The only way they are lethal is if you use one in front of the Cleveland police.
Please stop calling the object Tamir was holding a pellet gun. A pellet gun fires a .177 caliber metal (generally lead, but could be other materials) pellet at nearly the speed of some .22 caliber rounds, with the ability to cause lethal damage. It is indeed a deadly weapon. Tamir was carrying an Airsoft toy, which shoots plastic bb's at a fraction the velocity of a weapon. They simply hit and bounce off. Sometimes they sting a little on bare skin. The only way they are lethal is if you use one in front of the Cleveland police.
115
It's only called a pellet gun if the 12-year-old boy is white. If he's black and 12, he's not considered a child or worthy of medical treatment once he's shot. We get it. Yet Julia Shields, the white woman from Tennessee who drove through neighborhoods shooting at pedestrians from her car, was captured, cuffed, and taking to jail. And that white cop killer in Pennsylvania eluded the police for 48 days and was taken into custody. Both of these individuals used actual guns on actual people.
Please explain to me why they were arrested without incident, while using real weapons?
Please explain to me why they were arrested without incident, while using real weapons?
5
I watched the video and was absolutely stunned and horrified as second after second ticked by and neither officer did anything to help that child. The instantaneous shooting of the boy as the car skidded to a halt raises a huge question in my mind as to whether the boy even ever had a chance to comply before being shot. The additional calloused failure to render any aid to him in the shooting's aftermath (although they had time and exerted effort to tackle and arrest his sister) renders the officers' acts criminal in my view.
78
J., I too, watched the entire video and my take-away is that if I was on a jury and saw it, it would be of absolutely no help. Tamir had a gun which looked real and the police said that he reached into his waistband for it. We don't know if that is true or not. He was shot. It would be helpful to know what kind of medical aid the FBI agent gave Tamir--what aid could the police have rendered?
Understandably, his sister wanted to go to him, but, she was at a full run and we can't tell if the police person deliberately pushed her to the ground or did what he/she had to to stop the sister. The sister, then struggled to get free (again, understandably), but, she had to be restrained so cuffing her and putting her in the police car was necessary.
No one should be in possession of a gun illegally, and no one should have to wait for a trigger to be pulled before knowing whether the gun is fake or not. We may never know exactly what transpired at this scene, but Tamir is dead, and it didn't have to happen. All caregivers should drum into the heads of children that they should not be in possession of anything which looks like a real weapon. They should also immediately do what they are told to do by law enforcement.
Understandably, his sister wanted to go to him, but, she was at a full run and we can't tell if the police person deliberately pushed her to the ground or did what he/she had to to stop the sister. The sister, then struggled to get free (again, understandably), but, she had to be restrained so cuffing her and putting her in the police car was necessary.
No one should be in possession of a gun illegally, and no one should have to wait for a trigger to be pulled before knowing whether the gun is fake or not. We may never know exactly what transpired at this scene, but Tamir is dead, and it didn't have to happen. All caregivers should drum into the heads of children that they should not be in possession of anything which looks like a real weapon. They should also immediately do what they are told to do by law enforcement.
This sort of extremely aggressive and callous attitude from police officers is beyond understanding . It is not police behavior.
The recent incidents of murders of police officers can be direct result of such actions by some police officers.
There seems something very disturbingly wrong when being a police officer you shoot a young boy spontaneously , then don't try to help him and even restrain his sister for trying to help him while the child lays bleeding to death in roadside.
This is completely inhumane, criminal conduct .
The recent incidents of murders of police officers can be direct result of such actions by some police officers.
There seems something very disturbingly wrong when being a police officer you shoot a young boy spontaneously , then don't try to help him and even restrain his sister for trying to help him while the child lays bleeding to death in roadside.
This is completely inhumane, criminal conduct .
241
Careful, Bobby, You live in NY (according to your signature) - your police force will turn its back on you now for daring to say that "some officers" might be wrong.
1
What is "police behavior"? It seems as if police behavior has become just what was exhibited in this instance and also that which has been exhibited in almost every recent instance.
We don't know what happened before because so many eyes have been opened in the past months, but if one goes back and scratches a bit, there are similar, even worse acts of agression by the mostly white police we pay to "protect" us in particular against black men and women. Yes. Women! There are other victims of police "protection". The families,relatives and friends of those murdered by the police are drawn into the situation, many times unfairly questioned to try to force them to feel guilt, to give in to the fact that the "police action" of perhaps "self defense" and lack of medical assistance was justified.
Was it necessary to grill the girl friend of the man murdered in Walmart because he was holding a toy gun? Not long after her questiong session she died in an automobile accident which is said to have been provoked.
The police seem to think that blacks and poor, blacks and whites, and immigrants are fair game to show their muscle and get rid of their hate.
We don't know what happened before because so many eyes have been opened in the past months, but if one goes back and scratches a bit, there are similar, even worse acts of agression by the mostly white police we pay to "protect" us in particular against black men and women. Yes. Women! There are other victims of police "protection". The families,relatives and friends of those murdered by the police are drawn into the situation, many times unfairly questioned to try to force them to feel guilt, to give in to the fact that the "police action" of perhaps "self defense" and lack of medical assistance was justified.
Was it necessary to grill the girl friend of the man murdered in Walmart because he was holding a toy gun? Not long after her questiong session she died in an automobile accident which is said to have been provoked.
The police seem to think that blacks and poor, blacks and whites, and immigrants are fair game to show their muscle and get rid of their hate.
1
The Cleveland Plain Dealer has several stories with very disturbing info about the shooter's work background and mental state including a report by a previous supervisor that no amount of training would be likely to improve matters.
Yet Cleveland PD hired him and gave him a gun!!!!!
Yet Cleveland PD hired him and gave him a gun!!!!!
3
This story gets worse and worse everyday. And of course, no charges have been filed and the officers are still working "on restricted duty." At least it appears that the paramedics did render aid, which they didn't do with Mr. Gardner in New York.
It looks like Ohio is an "open carry" state for anyone over 18. Does anyone know if this is the case? Although Tamir was only 12 years old, one of the officer said he was 20+ on his radio when he called it in. Compare this with the idiots that were pointing guns at law enforcement agents ay Clive's ranch.
It looks like Ohio is an "open carry" state for anyone over 18. Does anyone know if this is the case? Although Tamir was only 12 years old, one of the officer said he was 20+ on his radio when he called it in. Compare this with the idiots that were pointing guns at law enforcement agents ay Clive's ranch.
114
By the Cleveland standard the whole Cliven crowd should be dead. In fact, deader as their behavior was much more threatening (if Rice was even threatening at all) over a much more extended period of days.
But then (1) they were "white," and (2) they were actually armed and dangerous.
But then (1) they were "white," and (2) they were actually armed and dangerous.
4
What is worse is that for sure these guys knew by then that it had only been a toy gun. Yet they render no aid. Have they no decency whatsoever?
But have no fear. There will be a grand jury proceeding where it will be decided no charges can be filed.
But have no fear. There will be a grand jury proceeding where it will be decided no charges can be filed.
2
Egregious lack of compassion showed by these men. Have they no mercy for a child bleeding to death in front of them. Unconscionable behavior. We complain about the Jihadists and their brutal justice? These policemen are just as bad. Callous disregard for human life. #blacklivesmatter
167
You are spot on SusieQ, what kind of human would not come to the aid of a child, would restrain his teenage sister for no apparent reason after a violent tackle - why and how? Why isn't this going to a grand jury? Our police are out of control in New York, in Ferguson, in Las Cruses, and in Cleveland. How can anyone respect the uniform?
3
Seeing this ruined more than my day, it feels like it ruined the rest of my life. I was very angry when I first read of Tamir's murder. Seeing the video earlier today intensified my mix of bad emotions, the scariest is feeling hopeless because I don't expect it to change and I have no idea what I can do against an army of heavily armed police???
117
I had given the police the benefit of a doubt, but this info turns one's stomach. I certainly hope that there is some action taken against these officers.
85
People say oh just a couple of bad apples. Who knows. There may be many more where these two came from.
1
There will be none. No action. No consequence, other than another black child is dead. Left bleeding on the ground, while the demigod stood there watching and his sister restrained and forced to watch. Protest this and the bigots crawl out of the woodwork to howl, Fox makes snarky comments about the family, the Ohio version of Pat lynch huffs and puffs and nothing changes.
2
This case is heartbreaking. Heartfelt condolences to Tamir Rice's family.
Contrast Tamir's treatment with the recent peaceful arrest of a middle-aged white woman in Chattanooga, Tennessee who had been shooting at vehicles. The Chattannooga shooter was taken into custody unharmed .
Contrast Tamir's treatment with the recent peaceful arrest of a middle-aged white woman in Chattanooga, Tennessee who had been shooting at vehicles. The Chattannooga shooter was taken into custody unharmed .
128
It is sadly very clear that we are still divided by race and that blacks, especially blacks who don't have a lot of money, are treated with such indignity.
1
The facts - by which I mean the objective data - in this case are incontrovertible. They prove that the police:
1) Lied about the time frame from arrival to the fatal shot. This transpired over the course of a couple of seconds. It is thus grossly incompatible with the fiction that they represented of a perceived "threat"),
2) They exhibited gross negligence in failing to render necessary and proper aid to the wounded boy,
3) They used unwarranted and unjustified force in handcuffing and detaining the 14 year old sister and,
4) The responsible entities attempted to suppress the video evidence confirming all of this.
Given this, what does the department do? Puts the "perps" (in police parlance) on "restricted duty", meaning they sit at a desk and collect a salary. Of course, it's a matter of speculation, but it's doubtful that the same leniency and consideration would be extended to the average citizen suspected of similar crimes.
If precedent is any indicator, some contrived justification for this behavior will be constructed post hoc and punishment will not occur. One can only wryly invoke one of the famous but appropriate misconstructions of the late Chicago Mayor, Richard J. Daley Sr: "Gentlemen, get this straight: The police are not here to create disorder. The police are here to preserve disorder." (1968 Democratic Convention to reporters)
1) Lied about the time frame from arrival to the fatal shot. This transpired over the course of a couple of seconds. It is thus grossly incompatible with the fiction that they represented of a perceived "threat"),
2) They exhibited gross negligence in failing to render necessary and proper aid to the wounded boy,
3) They used unwarranted and unjustified force in handcuffing and detaining the 14 year old sister and,
4) The responsible entities attempted to suppress the video evidence confirming all of this.
Given this, what does the department do? Puts the "perps" (in police parlance) on "restricted duty", meaning they sit at a desk and collect a salary. Of course, it's a matter of speculation, but it's doubtful that the same leniency and consideration would be extended to the average citizen suspected of similar crimes.
If precedent is any indicator, some contrived justification for this behavior will be constructed post hoc and punishment will not occur. One can only wryly invoke one of the famous but appropriate misconstructions of the late Chicago Mayor, Richard J. Daley Sr: "Gentlemen, get this straight: The police are not here to create disorder. The police are here to preserve disorder." (1968 Democratic Convention to reporters)
107
Your a trained police officer. You're advised that a man with a gun is at the pavilion.
Do you drive directly up to the suspect (who has a gun), within in feet, side of the car exposed to possible gun fire? Any risk to the officers in that situation?
These two cowboys were huntin' bear!!! Before they pulled up, they cocked and primed for gun play.
And they murdered a 12 year old with a fake gun, arrested his 12 year old sister, and gave her a front row seat to watch her brother die.
And did nothing, NOTHING to try and aid the kid they shot.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED for them!!!
Of course Tamir looked demonic and was bulkin' up to run through the gun fire.
Do you drive directly up to the suspect (who has a gun), within in feet, side of the car exposed to possible gun fire? Any risk to the officers in that situation?
These two cowboys were huntin' bear!!! Before they pulled up, they cocked and primed for gun play.
And they murdered a 12 year old with a fake gun, arrested his 12 year old sister, and gave her a front row seat to watch her brother die.
And did nothing, NOTHING to try and aid the kid they shot.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED for them!!!
Of course Tamir looked demonic and was bulkin' up to run through the gun fire.
92
Even to speak of someone "bulking up to run through gunfire" (a reference to Mike Brown) suggests that the person who gives this description has been watching too many cartoons.
If your final sentence was meant to refer to the incident involving Michael Brown and Officer Darren Wilson, you have missed the mark. The forensics in the Ferguson case point to a teenager who attempted to reach into the cop car and obtain the officer's weapon. Other evidence indicates Brown was alive and 178 feet from the cop car at one point after the initial altercation. Brown did not obey any of the officer's instructions (to get on the ground, etc) and then moved toward the officer repeatedly.
Well - it was obvious - the 14 Year old Sister was running up to supply Heavy Weapons to her Wounded Brother. She HAD to be taken down - & quick.
Quick thinking Guys - you really know how to take care of Business. You the Man
Quick thinking Guys - you really know how to take care of Business. You the Man
2
It is obvious that these two men were are not qualified to be a police officer. With so many outstanding young veterans getting discharge from the military, the police departments should really use this opportunity improve the quality of people they have in their ranks. Maybe some type of national police academy so that we have consistent recruiting and training similar to the Merchant Marine Academies.
60
Yes quality is the issue. We can not have thugs disguised as police officers and protected by a union which seems to condone illegal conduct.
"...Maybe some type of national police academy...similar to the Merchant Marine Academies..." - excellent idea; this could be a cadre spread thru-out the country
Good idea, Bernie.
While we're at it, could we please, please, please institute psychological testing? It's high time we weeded out the sociopaths and compulsive liars.
Our crime rates have fallen so much that we now have more to fear from the police than the criminals.
While we're at it, could we please, please, please institute psychological testing? It's high time we weeded out the sociopaths and compulsive liars.
Our crime rates have fallen so much that we now have more to fear from the police than the criminals.
1
From watching the video it certainly appears that the boy was startled as a police car came zooming toward where he was, probably with the siren going. Looks like the boy got up from the table and went to greet the police car when he saw or heard it approaching rapidly. It is hard to see anything other then the policemen getting out and probably shooting the boy immediately. It seems that whether the boy had a gun or not is besides the point. Put together that in his last job he was unable to deal with his emotions it is easy to see what happened. He should never have shot, should never have been given a job after his last job. It seems that because of lack of screening he was hired and now a 12 yo boy is dead, his sister and family traumatized and his parents have lost a son. Being a cop is a difficult job but being a good one is paramount.
75
Most of America would settle for the cop being a decent human being. That cop was neither, but he will walk awy unscathed.
2
It might be a good idea to move a policeman who has shot and killed anyone, especially an unarmed or young person to another type of job and take away his gun for a while. Maybe psychological help would useful. I don't believe that a person is unmoved by having killed another in the city streets. We are not at war on mainstreet.
Wow. This is so disturbing I am forced to revert to the vocabulary of my youth. The thought that after having a chance to realize that horrible, tragic, mistake had been made to compound it by not rendering aid to the victim (or I guess the officers viewed as the "perp") is nothing short of sickening.
50
The problem with so many police officers is they do not have the ability to think outside of the box. Classic group think handcuffs them into believing whatever they do is okay because it is the accepted way of doing things. Clearly the police in this case were grossly negligent if not criminally negligent. The police have a mind set they have to rush into every situation and assert their authority as opposed to considering the circumstances in question and using their brain to determine the facts and acting accordingly.
49
It should be kept in mind when considering a police shooting that when person is shot attempting to harm an officer, it's an adversarial relationship of the most extreme kind. There is no love lost when you are being forced into mortal combat.
This was not the case here. It is patently clear Tamir Rice was not trying to harm these policeman, and indeed he had neither means nor motive to do so. Furthermore from what I see in the video, Rice was not given the opportunity to comply, he was shot so fast no opportunity existed. He may in fact have been in the act of complying. This was a rushed shooting, an unjustified killing.
This had to have been very well understood by these cops at the scene, who no doubt had no clue it was being recorded.
This was not the case here. It is patently clear Tamir Rice was not trying to harm these policeman, and indeed he had neither means nor motive to do so. Furthermore from what I see in the video, Rice was not given the opportunity to comply, he was shot so fast no opportunity existed. He may in fact have been in the act of complying. This was a rushed shooting, an unjustified killing.
This had to have been very well understood by these cops at the scene, who no doubt had no clue it was being recorded.
80
Precisely because of incidents like this, and Eric Garner, and John Crawford III, I now hesitate and second guess myself before calling 911. What's the worse outcome, me calling the police when I wonder if something is a threat, or not calling the police? In my neighborhood, which is very racially diverse, we are actively encouraged to call police to keep crime down, but what if someone resists arrest, or is perceived to resist arrest, and gets killed? What if they simply run from the police, and end up dead? I don't want that on my conscience.
56
I have the same dilemma. I would be afraid to call the police. As a matter of fact, police officers should not first responders to handle a mental ill person as they have repeatedly demonstrated they have no skills.
Yes. I have thought the same thing. I live in the same kind of neighborhood. I saw a black guy one day who looked like he may be casing out cars to break into. He had baggy paints on and T-shirt. I did not call the police. I think I might have called if the guy was white, but I thought twice because this guy was black.
1
This morning I read in the Times about the horrific pain suffered by then 25 year old rock climber Tommy Caldwell,when he was forced, in order to save his life and those of three others, to shove his armed kidnapper over a cliff to his (seeming) death in the mountains of Pakistan 14 years ago. He was in soul shattering agony at the thought he had caused the death of another, even one who was holding him and his friends in a violent, horrific nightmare of a kidnapping.
And now, two other young American men, standing casually over the still living body of a child while he bleeds to death, his handcuffed sister nearby, in full knowledge that the gun that caused the shooting was a toy.
What is the difference between these men? Where has the sense of human connection, of decency, of compassion and service gone in the hearts of these just-past-boyhood themselves young men who have sworn to "serve and protect"?
My heart aches for all of us.
And now, two other young American men, standing casually over the still living body of a child while he bleeds to death, his handcuffed sister nearby, in full knowledge that the gun that caused the shooting was a toy.
What is the difference between these men? Where has the sense of human connection, of decency, of compassion and service gone in the hearts of these just-past-boyhood themselves young men who have sworn to "serve and protect"?
My heart aches for all of us.
67
The answer is that the police officers in this story more closely resemble the kidnapper, not Tommy Caldwell, in the other story.
1
It's not just about these evil appearing men. It's about the authorities that stand aloof waiting for time to pass and say "let's move forward".
I'm sorry but the climber story has nothing to do with the subject, and is in fact a distraction.
Even more shocking than the unprovoked shooting of the boy is the apparently casual, even bored demeanor of the officers in the aftermath of the shooting. As if they shoot innocent 12 year olds every day. Ho-hum. This is beyond outrageous.
87
The NYPD and Cleveland police officers have much in common. Both turn their backs on common human decency.
74
That's a bit of hyperbole, isn't it? The immediate shooting of a 12 year old isn't really comparable to the tangentially connected death of a convicted criminal from a banned takedown move. The problem with painting all potential cases of police brutality with the same broad brush is that it trivializes the people who actually suffer.
The police should have used their loudspeaker to speak to Tamir and tell him to drop his weapon so they could arrest him. It is extremely evident that they wanted to inflict damage, and showed no interest in properly assessing the situation.
44
There wasn't even a need to arrest him. All they had to do was assure themselves that the gun was a toy.
10
The toy gun part is irrelevant--there is no way they could have known that was the case.
However, the failure to give first aid is similar to the pattern we saw in Ferguson, where the body laid there for 4 hours. And the sister who might have given aid was prevented from doing so.
And this was presumably already after they figured out that the boy (12 years old) had been holding a toy gun (even if they could not have known this in the beginning). I guess Cleveland Police will need to start their own slowdown if any of us criticize their actions...
However, the failure to give first aid is similar to the pattern we saw in Ferguson, where the body laid there for 4 hours. And the sister who might have given aid was prevented from doing so.
And this was presumably already after they figured out that the boy (12 years old) had been holding a toy gun (even if they could not have known this in the beginning). I guess Cleveland Police will need to start their own slowdown if any of us criticize their actions...
39
Well, the 911 caller said "it's probably a toy" - altho it's not clear the 2 responders ever heard that. But if Ohio is an open carry state, what business did the cops have even going after him? It's always 2nd amendment as top priority until the gun holder is black, and then it isn't.
85
You are so right..... the right to carry but only if you're white .... disgusting
3
police did not know the killer of this child was let go by another police force because he could not handle the stress of the job. Well, Cleveland, you just bought yourself a whole lot of money going out the door, and, lots of blood from a child to live with because you are lazy, incompetent, and now, criminal. well done. now why is it exactly we should respect you and your incompetent police?
71
That's not important. What's important is that Lebron James now plays for Cleveland. So another black kid just got slaughtered. Go Cavaliers!
Many of us have our fingerprints on the gun that killed that child. Giving an officer a gun and the authority to use it make these actions inevitable. It is not an acceptable solution to place fallible human beings in the front lines of a collapsing social system and expect them to keep the rest of us safe from the results of grinding poverty, untreated mental illness and the vast injustices and inequalities of our times. We need to work harder for a world that that doesn't need a police force.
19
But in the meantime, we should not have thugs disguised as police officers. The quality of the human element matters. Cops must learn to take risk as a health care providers treating ebola have done daily.
2
Perception. Reality.
To serve and protect To shoot and neglect
To serve and protect To shoot and neglect
33
This is so horrible, beyond words. Having been immersed in the reports on terrorist killings in the past two days, it is more than unsettling to read this. I wish there would be justice so that Tamir could rest in peace and his sister and mother could heal.
25
It is difficult for me to believe that the actions of the police leading up to the shooting represent "best practices" or SOP in response to what they knew of the situation. Certainly their actions created what appears to me to be an unnecessary situation that gave no margin for error, either on the part of the boy, or for themselves. I think the extent of their departure from best practices is the extent of their culpability.
11
It is odd that they drove up to a reported gun situation. They cowboyed up rather than use caution in approaching in the situation.
Approach a shooter while in a vehicle? Shot through the windshield, shot through the side window. YOU DON'T CHARGE IN GUNS ABLAZE.
Of course Tamir looked Demonic. He was bulkin' up to charge through the bullets......and he may have had a loosie in his pocket. Too bad he wasn't in Wal*Mart.
Approach a shooter while in a vehicle? Shot through the windshield, shot through the side window. YOU DON'T CHARGE IN GUNS ABLAZE.
Of course Tamir looked Demonic. He was bulkin' up to charge through the bullets......and he may have had a loosie in his pocket. Too bad he wasn't in Wal*Mart.
23
Restricted duty? Really? That's just to protect them so they can go back out on the street and shoot another kid. Smdh!
15
and they get paid and will likely never lose their pensions
I can't watch this. It makes me sick.
There has to be repercussions for the officers. This is so unbelievable The poor child. What possible excuse could they have for tackling and handcuffing another child, his sister?
There has to be repercussions for the officers. This is so unbelievable The poor child. What possible excuse could they have for tackling and handcuffing another child, his sister?
34
Wow this really changed my mind about the story. I'm generally sympathetic to the police but this is horrible. When I first heard it seemed justifiable but to let the kid die in front of you like that is criminal. I'm interested to see if they even try to defend their actions and if so how.
21
I hope none of these cops along with the rest doing absolutely non-cop things ever show up in my western MT town. We had one a few years ago from LA and he got busted for a lot less and is gone. Our cops still protect their own all the time until they are called out. Do they get away with stuff? I'm sure. These Cleveland cops have been called out big time.
6
He is only a child-making snowballs, playing with a toy gun. Just a child. How could this possibly happen?
14
Because it is America, 2015, when Fox and their devotees make excuses and sideways comments about the worthlessness of black lives, When the police have been elevated to near guardian angels status and questioning their motives and actions is to invite attack from those just mentioned. You think this is new? It is not, it is the historic treatment of a segment of American citizens - only now there are cell phones. Watch for the police to make a beeline to anyone recording their assualts that have one. We are all in danger, and those who think their complexion protects them - consider that alot of Germans thought they were immune too.
4
This shooting is an abomination and the unqualified cop should be prosecuted, found guilty and imprisoned.
24
I've given cops the benefit of the doubt in these recent cases. But these goofs just lost my sympathy. Hit 'em with everything possible, and then some. They've lost all their humanity.
20
This is insanity. I am an old white Republican middle-class male - and I am convinced that this tragedy would not have occured if Tamir was white kid playing with a toy gun. This nonsense can't go on. Police officers have a tough job - but it is apparent that they need better training. And police departments need to do a better job in hiring police officers. I'm of the opinion that all three of the recent tragedies could have been avoided had the police arriving on the scene responded differently. On the other hand, I'll bet that many uneccesary deaths are avoided every day because of the intelligent actions of good police officers. We don't hear about tragedies that are avoided.
31
Yes, for sure a poor police tactic to approach so quickly, with guns drawn. Then to treat the boy and his sister so poorly, there is no excuse for that. But I have to ask, in this climate, who gave this child a toy gun, and then go out unsupervised. Ohviously, there was concern from neighbors to call 911. Why are we allowing toy makers to manufacture toys that mimic weapons so realistically, and why are people giving them to their children? Isn't there responsibility from both police and the family/community, in this land of guns without sensible regulations?
Why are the faces obscured? Public street, public officer, paid by the public.
They have no right to anonymity. None. The first responder, an FBI agent, and any civilian, their faces perhaps can be obscured. I want to read the lips. I want to know what was said out on the street in the 'get the stories straight' conversation. It should be on one of the tapes. If not, I want to know why not.
And is the little girl still sitting in cuffs in the back of the shooters cruiser at minute 30 on the tape? How long did they keep her there? How many times did she think they were coming to shoot her, a possible witness?
She had no reason not to 'fear for her life'. Her brother's killer just kept coming back, again, and again, and again, to the side of the patrol car.
It is not an outrageous thought. It is a quite cold and logical thought, based upon the videoed actions of all the officers.
They have no right to anonymity. None. The first responder, an FBI agent, and any civilian, their faces perhaps can be obscured. I want to read the lips. I want to know what was said out on the street in the 'get the stories straight' conversation. It should be on one of the tapes. If not, I want to know why not.
And is the little girl still sitting in cuffs in the back of the shooters cruiser at minute 30 on the tape? How long did they keep her there? How many times did she think they were coming to shoot her, a possible witness?
She had no reason not to 'fear for her life'. Her brother's killer just kept coming back, again, and again, and again, to the side of the patrol car.
It is not an outrageous thought. It is a quite cold and logical thought, based upon the videoed actions of all the officers.
22
I agree; they have zero right to anonymity. The NYT needs to explain why it's hiding their identity. ASAP.
3
Tamir's mother has also stated that the "gun" was not even owned by Tamir. She did not allow him to have such a "toy" in her home. Another child had given it to him just to play.
20
scsmits,
your info is interesting bc originally (actually on Thanksgivng Eve) my friend was very quick to defend the cop and blame the mom for allowing her kid to have the toy gun in the first place. It made me angry for many days afterwards.
your info is interesting bc originally (actually on Thanksgivng Eve) my friend was very quick to defend the cop and blame the mom for allowing her kid to have the toy gun in the first place. It made me angry for many days afterwards.
10
What we know from the news is very positive for Tamir's family...
This case is really extreme, but I am sure that the cop will get away with it, except that he will lose his job. The Feds could take it on but they will not.
13
To serve and protect. Who?
19
serve themselves and protect their pensions. (It's not fair that the cops have to wait till the ripe old age of 45 to retire.)
17
The officers' behavior is beyond comprehension. After viewing the video, how can the Chief of the Cleveland Police Department, Calvin Williams, have placed the officers on "restricted duty" and not suspended them?
42
Cop car flies up to scene. Probably too close to the “suspect” – certainly not very tactical. OMG! Suspect has gun. Bang! – cops shoots suspect. Conclusion - cop caught off guard - certainly not good policing. Little boy dead – yes. Teachable moment – yes (of course that cop is never going to find work again). Sorry to be callous – but the kid had a gun (real or not). How about the recent story in St. Louis? – where the guy actually pointed a gun at the cop. There are people that really thought that the cop should have considered first using a taser (seriously!). Please stop the Monday morning quarterbacking people. If you want a kinder, gentler police force – then become a cop and try it yourself. We’ve got a few fine neighborhoods here in Chicago were you can start your community outreach efforts.
2
There is NO excuse for killing 12 year-old Tamir.
Outreach in Chicago. That's a pitiful joke.
The police in Chicago spent so much money on NEW state-of-the art police stations AND SUVs there's not much left for after school programs.
Outreach in Chicago. That's a pitiful joke.
The police in Chicago spent so much money on NEW state-of-the art police stations AND SUVs there's not much left for after school programs.
16
Great thinking, Carlton.
Kid was only 12, but he was black afterall -- a "young buck" in the making as Ronald Reagan would have put it.
Kid was only 12, but he was black afterall -- a "young buck" in the making as Ronald Reagan would have put it.
6
That's how I felt too but if you read the article (usually a prerequisite before commenting) you'll see what happened next and I challenge you to excuse that.
6
worst, most tragic, heartless thing I've ever seen.
29
Killing a kid playing at a Rec Center is beyond awful, then letting him lie unattended and arrest his sister. WOW !.
15
I would like to think a basic level of humanity would require some level of aid. Really no excuse for that.
39
What about no excuse for killing Tamir!
17
Police departments around the country are magnets for sociopaths and Rambo wannabes who don't have what it takes to qualify for SEAL Team 6. So, what do they do? They play out their fantasies on the people they're supposed to serve and protect.
This case, along with that of the dimwit from South Carolina who shot an unarmed man who was trying to get his wallet out to show him his driver's license are prime examples of this.
I'd like to see these "officers" handling a situation involving a few seasoned MS 13 thugs. I doubt they would be so cocky.
This case, along with that of the dimwit from South Carolina who shot an unarmed man who was trying to get his wallet out to show him his driver's license are prime examples of this.
I'd like to see these "officers" handling a situation involving a few seasoned MS 13 thugs. I doubt they would be so cocky.
33
Policing probably draws its share of people with issues. But it would be a mistake to attribute the problems with policing to individual officers.
2
Then why don't they speak out. People are constantly demanding that each and every Muslim stand up and decry the violence of extremist from their ranks...why not police. Seriously where are their voices? oh wait...it's Lynch (what an ironically apt name)
2
How much more proof do we need when the Cleveland P.D.is run by incompetent and possibly racist officials when it admits it failed to do a complete back round check on the officer who killed this kid. They didn't even bother to check why this guy resigned from his previous post.... This strongly suggests that most P.D.'s fail to hire competent and capable individuals for their police force. NYC tops that list and has for a very long time... Time to change things from the top down... first thing- decertify the union(s). Then, change the hiring practices and standards for the P.D. Keep those rich power elites off any committee or board that may be created to set up new guidelines.
28
I'm wondering who indeed lacks "sofistication", but anyway, the comment misses the point of the article. I would assume that these officers, like most police, are trained as "first responders" in medical emergencies. Their negligence was clearly wrong.
9
"Officer Loehmann, 26, who fired the fatal shot, had quit a suburban police force after his supervisors determined two years ago that he had had a “dangerous loss of composure” during firearms training and was emotionally unprepared to cope with stresses of the job."
The Cleveland police HR dept did NOT check Loehmann's previous record. Why not? Is that SOP with the Cleveland police dept?
The Cleveland police HR dept did NOT check Loehmann's previous record. Why not? Is that SOP with the Cleveland police dept?
34
Ferguson, New York and Cleveland. There was another incident over an year ago in which parents of an unstable boy called the police for help when the boy would'nt give up a sharp object. Three policemen arive and end up killing the boy.
Reading about these trigger happy and indifferent policemen, I truly feel terrorized.
Reading about these trigger happy and indifferent policemen, I truly feel terrorized.
40
This is horrendous.
Not only this, many of our youth are arrested and sent to juvenile detention on trumped up charges.
In addition, all for-profit prisons must be outlawed and shut down ASAP.
What has happened to our country?
Not only this, many of our youth are arrested and sent to juvenile detention on trumped up charges.
In addition, all for-profit prisons must be outlawed and shut down ASAP.
What has happened to our country?
38
In addition, this police officer did not shoot to warn or disable. He shot to KILL.
17
Our country is being destroyed from within. We are dying.
15
It was the war on drugs that is to blame. The cops have been out of control for some time.
1
As a black man I can say one of the most outrageous case of brutality from a police officer that I saw on tape was the assault of a tiny white woman Cassaundra Fuerstsein by officer Michael Hart in Skokie, Illinois. The woman was arrested and placed in a tiny cell. For some reason she went to the door. The next thing you see on the videotape is that officer slamming the woman with All his might into a concrete stand. The woman suffered multiple facial fractures and what really appeared to be an orbital fracture. At least some of the other officers seemed moved to see her in that condition and tended to her. I remembered shedding quite a few tears over that case. I noticed with the Brown, Gardner and now Tamir Rice cases many whites making all kind of excuses for their killings and subsequent treatments. What has happened to people's humanity? We all need some serious soul searching and get right with our maker.
58
White person here. There is no justifiable excuse for what happened to Eric Garner and Tamir Rice. Michael Brown is a different story in my opinion. The police in the US are too quick to shoot first and ask questions later-it should be the other way around. We'll all have to work together to change the way our policing system works, and from the current state of affairs, we have a long way to go.
7
I wandered onto the NYT site to read these comments and get some relief from the cesspool that is the comments section at cleveland.com. Not only excusing the cops, there is a mob mentality of disdain, nay, hatred for Tamir as well as for Tanisha Anderson, a woman with mental illness who died in CPD custody when an officer took her to the ground, restraining her with a knee to her back and her hands pulled behind her. Should a person's surviving a police encounter depend on their color? Their zip code? I work with students of color and the excusing of brutal policing is making me sick.
3
Michael Brown is a "different story" becuase that is that the DA told you when he filtered the evidence - and how quickly that was swallowed by the white populace. Except it wasn't the truth (note the juror suing to get the truth out). How many more times like this do you personally need to know there is a probem. It is endemic. Pay attention
2
Forget the fact that they are, "police officers." They are also criminals. How can they sleep? Probably fine. It's the neurotics like me who can never relate to that kind of cruelty. How in the world do we weed out psychopaths from professions that attract them? I don't think its possible. But until they do, none of us are safe from them.
47
That is a very disturbing video. I have also viewed the video of the time before the arrival of the officers. The 12 year is being 12, stupid, pointing a 'toy' at passersby. The calls to the police, and the outcome are at least predictable.
However, the level of in competence displayed by the various officers is jolting, disturbing, disgusting.
Officer Frank Garmback pulled up broadside to within 15 feet of a possible gunman. If it had been a crazed gunman, both officers would have died. Not maybe, not possibly, both would have died if faced with a determined gunman.
So that position squeezed Timothy Loehmann. The door of the police vehicle is a hindrance and Officer Loehmann instantly exits firing. There was zero time for a shouted order, or comprehension of an order. If such is claimed, it is simply a fabrication. There was simply not adequate time to do anything but shoot. But,,,,,, Loehmann should not have shot first. He should have shouted instructions, he should have waited, including ,,, he should have risked his life just then,,, and exactly just then. That IS what I pay him for. I pay him to put himself in harms way and yes, to die for me. He is there to protect and serve, protect and serve a stupid kid, at 12 they are all stupid and need protecting. Again, complete lack of forbearance, judgement, and training.
Then you have no medical assistance. The sister, an obvious 14 year old kid is tackled, cuffed and detained.
However, the level of in competence displayed by the various officers is jolting, disturbing, disgusting.
Officer Frank Garmback pulled up broadside to within 15 feet of a possible gunman. If it had been a crazed gunman, both officers would have died. Not maybe, not possibly, both would have died if faced with a determined gunman.
So that position squeezed Timothy Loehmann. The door of the police vehicle is a hindrance and Officer Loehmann instantly exits firing. There was zero time for a shouted order, or comprehension of an order. If such is claimed, it is simply a fabrication. There was simply not adequate time to do anything but shoot. But,,,,,, Loehmann should not have shot first. He should have shouted instructions, he should have waited, including ,,, he should have risked his life just then,,, and exactly just then. That IS what I pay him for. I pay him to put himself in harms way and yes, to die for me. He is there to protect and serve, protect and serve a stupid kid, at 12 they are all stupid and need protecting. Again, complete lack of forbearance, judgement, and training.
Then you have no medical assistance. The sister, an obvious 14 year old kid is tackled, cuffed and detained.
42
Panic and gross and deadly overreaction is bad enough. But the indifference of the officers involved after the shooting is beyond my ability to understand.
And inability or indifference of the Cleveland PD in effectively screening out someone who should not be a policeman is a gross organizational failure. Good and repeated training is essential, but it seems doubtful that the policeman who shot the child should have been appointed in the first place.
And, speaking as a near 70 year-old white man and military veteran, if there's any recent case a so why Mayor Bill DiBlasio was absolutely correct to talk to his son about being careful around police, this is it.
And inability or indifference of the Cleveland PD in effectively screening out someone who should not be a policeman is a gross organizational failure. Good and repeated training is essential, but it seems doubtful that the policeman who shot the child should have been appointed in the first place.
And, speaking as a near 70 year-old white man and military veteran, if there's any recent case a so why Mayor Bill DiBlasio was absolutely correct to talk to his son about being careful around police, this is it.
86
Thank you!
10
As an eighty year old white male veteran I can say this incident is one of many showing a policeman's attitude overcoming his training. Some policemen have bad attitudes and management must get rid of the "bad apples". Of course bad attitudes are sometimes tolerated and even praised by union leaders and complicit managers. Attitudes need changing and police management must MANAGE.
1
The naivety of the American left never ceases to amaze me. I guess the police officer should have taken a bullet to the chest to ensure the gun was real. This boy clearly draws the gun from his waistband only a few feet from the cop. A tragedy no doubt, but to call this "murder" either shows a lack of legal sofistication or a predictable racial agenda. I fear it may be both.
6
It was murder.
11
True. But it's what happens afterwards that is so clearly wrong. Even a die hard supporter of police can not possibly justify these men standing there and not trying any basic first aid on the poor kid.
I find it interesting that commentators here are trying to justify the shooting, when the article is mostly about the aftermath. Since not one person has tried to excuse that aspect of the case I guess we all agree it was reprehensible and indefensible.
I find it interesting that commentators here are trying to justify the shooting, when the article is mostly about the aftermath. Since not one person has tried to excuse that aspect of the case I guess we all agree it was reprehensible and indefensible.
6
the cops pulled directly up to the threat which is why they were only feet from the kid.
9
In the March 2014 fatal shooting of unarmed James Boyd in Albuquerque, the video shows that police rendered no aid to Mr. Boyd after shooting him. They jostled him, cuffed him as he moaned, and then they milled about. Not a word can be heard commenting on his being shot, his condition, or mobilizing to render some kind of first aid. Why this seemingly consistent attitude in Cleveland, Albuquerque, and likely elsewhere? It is chilling.
52
Same thing in NYC with Eric Garner. I can't understand why they don't give any aid.
16
same with the more recent shooting in Missouri: the case in which there was perhaps really a gun drawn, so maybe more justified. But that young man took over half an hour to die and may well have survived if they didn't let him bleed to death; they didn't call an ambulance, even *after* his mother had already arrived on the scene.
5
and you wonder why relations between the police and the african american community is so bad. Neither one of those cops saw anything wrong with what they did.
57
Relations between "police" and every community that is NOT "police" have reached a breaking point that both "police" and everyday people can't fathom. It's time for "police" to realize they are not an entity unto themselves and realize that, as people, they are no different than those they purport to be "enforcing."
15
Police abuse and brutality, as depicted in the video, is outrageous; and the arrogance of Mr. Lynch in attacking NYC 's mayor is but one more sign that there is corruption in police's ranks, and infuriating immunity to boot. Some of us would surely like to see if recruitment of these officers had the proper background check, make sure we are not dealing with trigger- happy cowboy-mentality sadistic brutes in search of an opportunity to use their guns on us, easy targets for sure. Abuse of power must stop, and the sooner the better. Even one innocent child's death is one too many. We are a violent society, and it shows. The free sale of semi-automatic weapons, more suitable for a battle in Irak or Siria, even if promoted by the I.R.A., is an insult to reason, common sense and safety. The sale by the Army of their excess stock of high caliber weapons to the local police, another insult to an already scared community. Why should anyone be scared by the same police force that we support with our taxes to protect us? Something is very wrong with this picture. And the reluctance of the Police to release the video is a bad omen, as if we need further proof of malpractice.
43
So, what's new? To those who are chronically in denial; can you imagine this happening to a relative of the Guggenheim or the Kochs?
22
We hear SOOOOO much vitriol about Moslems not speaking out when extremists commit horrible acts. That's baloney of course. After the tragedy in Paris, Moslem organizations immediately came out to denounce the horror.
You know what group NEVER speaks out when some of its members commit criminal atrocities?
The police.
You know what group NEVER speaks out when some of its members commit criminal atrocities?
The police.
105
Tamir Rice did not deserve to die.
We have all lost something from his death. When I think that me and my family, when going to a public park, might not get the chance to have a kid point a gun (which was modified to look real) at us as a game it makes me sad.
What is happening in our country? Those police should have exercised restraint. They could have waited until someone was shot and then intervened. In fact that should be the new standard- assume all guns are toys until proven otherwise.
We have all lost something from his death. When I think that me and my family, when going to a public park, might not get the chance to have a kid point a gun (which was modified to look real) at us as a game it makes me sad.
What is happening in our country? Those police should have exercised restraint. They could have waited until someone was shot and then intervened. In fact that should be the new standard- assume all guns are toys until proven otherwise.
6
How horrible. The NYT should publish the official report submitted by the police .
This should be an interesting read to see how much it relates to the horror seen on this video.
This should be an interesting read to see how much it relates to the horror seen on this video.
18
That is the most irresponsible police behavior i have ever seen, from start to finish. I dont know where to begin.
30
Why aren't these policemen in jail awaiting their trials for murder, and accomplice to murder?
Would we be able to watch this video if an FBI agent hadn't happened to walk by?
19
So the NYPD are upset, because their feelings are hurt by the mayor telling his mixed-race son to be careful around police?
Poor babies!!
But look at what's been happening lately! Three months ago, a mentally ill white man sat on a roadside, waving a real gun around, threatening to shoot people. Police arrive and spend 30 minutes talking him calm, before managing to disarm him without incident.
Six months ago, a white woman drove around shooting at cars, disabling several by shooting into engines and radiators. Yet police carefullly boxed her in, and then talked to her for almost an hour before getting her to surrender.
Less than a year ago, a white man who has been stealing from Americans for 20 years, and has refused to pay a lawful fine for 20 years (while continuing to break the law) gathered a bunch of like-minded conservative friends, and threatened to murder government and law enforcement personnel if they attempted to do their job. Rather than have anyone hurt, the government and police backed down (making the criminal a hero on Fox News).
Then we have black men...
Shot by vigilantes for walking down the street...
Illegally choked and then killed by a "crew" of police for arguing with them while selling "loosies"...
Shot dead while talking to his wife, for the crime of holding an air rifle picked up off a Wal-Mart store shelf...
And now a 12 year old child, shot dead literally TWO SECONDS after police arrival! And then cuffing his sister?!?!
Equal treatment? NOT!
Poor babies!!
But look at what's been happening lately! Three months ago, a mentally ill white man sat on a roadside, waving a real gun around, threatening to shoot people. Police arrive and spend 30 minutes talking him calm, before managing to disarm him without incident.
Six months ago, a white woman drove around shooting at cars, disabling several by shooting into engines and radiators. Yet police carefullly boxed her in, and then talked to her for almost an hour before getting her to surrender.
Less than a year ago, a white man who has been stealing from Americans for 20 years, and has refused to pay a lawful fine for 20 years (while continuing to break the law) gathered a bunch of like-minded conservative friends, and threatened to murder government and law enforcement personnel if they attempted to do their job. Rather than have anyone hurt, the government and police backed down (making the criminal a hero on Fox News).
Then we have black men...
Shot by vigilantes for walking down the street...
Illegally choked and then killed by a "crew" of police for arguing with them while selling "loosies"...
Shot dead while talking to his wife, for the crime of holding an air rifle picked up off a Wal-Mart store shelf...
And now a 12 year old child, shot dead literally TWO SECONDS after police arrival! And then cuffing his sister?!?!
Equal treatment? NOT!
100
More recently, Eric Frein, white, who shot and killed a police officer, eluded the police for 48 days, and then was apprehended--unharmed.
And Julia Shields, whites, who drove around a Tennessee neighborhood shooting at pedestrians. . . apprehended unharmed.
And Julia Shields, whites, who drove around a Tennessee neighborhood shooting at pedestrians. . . apprehended unharmed.
2
The cops knew immediately that they were in trouble.
They needed to figure out what story to tell.
They didn't help the boy because they wanted no witnesses, not the boy, not his sister.
They should go to jail.
They needed to figure out what story to tell.
They didn't help the boy because they wanted no witnesses, not the boy, not his sister.
They should go to jail.
73
My thoughts exactly.
4
Now we need a hashtag that reads
#Children's lives matter.
How terrible for us all.
#Children's lives matter.
How terrible for us all.
14
How about one that says police lives matter?
Everyone's life matters.
Everyone's life matters.
Actually not in this case, or are the apoligists incapable of even admitting that, just this once..a kid...go on ....
Let's stop calling thugs like these "police officers." The "officer" part comes from "_peace_ officer," OK? "Police" is enough; "officer" is, IMO, a kind of honorific.
And the second cop did not "tackle" the 14-y.o. sister. He _assaulted_ her. And unlawfully confined her, and subjected her to horror.
It's time bad cops did the prison time ordinary citizens would If convicted of similar crimes. No -- they should do extra time, for the aggravating factor of having been in a position of public trust.
And the second cop did not "tackle" the 14-y.o. sister. He _assaulted_ her. And unlawfully confined her, and subjected her to horror.
It's time bad cops did the prison time ordinary citizens would If convicted of similar crimes. No -- they should do extra time, for the aggravating factor of having been in a position of public trust.
53
Badge or no, these men are sociopaths. They need to be locked up & the key tossed away because there is no cure.
2
Amen. I heard on the news that "congressman" Grimm would probably receive probation for his guilty plea to a felony charge because he had been an FBI agent. Actually, they ought to double the sentence. He knew the law very well and broke it with impunity.
Same area where Mr. Garner was choked to death elected this clown while he was being charged with crimes. Just amazing. What's wrong with Staten Island?
Same area where Mr. Garner was choked to death elected this clown while he was being charged with crimes. Just amazing. What's wrong with Staten Island?
Amen. I heard on the news that "congressman" Grimm would probably receive probation for his guilty plea to a felony charge because he had been an FBI agent. Actually, they ought to double the sentence. He knew the law very well and broke it with impunity.
Same area where Mr. Garner was choked to death elected this clown while he was being charged with crimes. Just amazing. What's wrong with Staten Island?
Same area where Mr. Garner was choked to death elected this clown while he was being charged with crimes. Just amazing. What's wrong with Staten Island?
Police do need a different standard for violent response than the rest of it, that's true. But there MUST be cases where cops are stripped of their jobs (not on administrative leave) and put into jail. There must, or there is no line that can't be crossed. This case seems a perfect example of where something meaningful has to happen -- and right up the line to the people who hired this cop without looking at his past performance in another department; they are just as much to blame as the shooter himself.
25
Watch the video. Two seconds and bang the cop shoots him.
The report was for a probably fake pistol. The kid was 12.
This was murder and the non-rendering of even basic first aid
by the cops is further proof.
The report was for a probably fake pistol. The kid was 12.
This was murder and the non-rendering of even basic first aid
by the cops is further proof.
39
The burden of this sort of behaviour is born by all American police.....the law enforcement community has a very long way to go before it can begin to expect the rest of to trust or empathize with it.
I would add, some of the NYPD apparently have a very low degree of self awareness.
I would add, some of the NYPD apparently have a very low degree of self awareness.
14
The police in America are now completely out of control, and are encouraged in their actions by not being charged and prosecuted for what appear to be crimes approaching murder under color of authority.
This is a particularly egregious example, but there are many more.
The color of the individuals involved is not relevant. The only thing relevant is that police continue to shoot unarmed people and/or people with toy guns, and continue to get away with mild reprimands or time off with pay.
This is a particularly egregious example, but there are many more.
The color of the individuals involved is not relevant. The only thing relevant is that police continue to shoot unarmed people and/or people with toy guns, and continue to get away with mild reprimands or time off with pay.
19
This just breaks my heart. My heart goes out to family of Tamir Rice. As a mother my heart hurts that she had lose lose her precious son for no reason and have her daughter traumatized and brutalized. This madness has to stop!
27
How can anyone shoot a child and then watch him die? How can anyone be so bereft of humanity?
61
For starters, there is a swath of Americans, fired up by a certain segment of the media and politicians, that do not consider black citizens or their children fully human. They have had generations of indoctrinations from their families and leaders to assure that this poison would pass through to them. Don't believe that, note the carefully worded code the cops use, even the imagery of the "thin blue line" between what color?
1
That's the questions the "Black Lives Matter" protesters have been asking, which has been roundly derided. If you don't see someone as human, then you feel no remorse in shooting him. And you don't recognize or accept that a sister would run to help that child.
2
Curious about these comments talking how officers "watch him die", "rendered no aid"... The article stated "was not pronounced dead until more than nine hours later..."...
I don't condone the officers actions but once again we see partial facts and a video without testimony.
As for rendering aid, with lawsuits the way they are today no wonder no person wants to give aid. Whether police or good samaritan there is lawsuit after lawsuit and even more lawsuits for both aiding and not aiding. So as a person what do you do? One case a friend sued another for helping, in another a friend sued for not helping.. Cities have been sued for both helping and not helping.... Each city suit costs taxpayers more money...
This doesn't appear right nor correct in any fashion. A terrible thing... But we also have to look at how "toy" guns are created today, looking more and more like the real thing... I pray those feeling there are choices never have to be faced with a gun pointed at them and left mere seconds to make the choice....
I don't condone the officers actions but once again we see partial facts and a video without testimony.
As for rendering aid, with lawsuits the way they are today no wonder no person wants to give aid. Whether police or good samaritan there is lawsuit after lawsuit and even more lawsuits for both aiding and not aiding. So as a person what do you do? One case a friend sued another for helping, in another a friend sued for not helping.. Cities have been sued for both helping and not helping.... Each city suit costs taxpayers more money...
This doesn't appear right nor correct in any fashion. A terrible thing... But we also have to look at how "toy" guns are created today, looking more and more like the real thing... I pray those feeling there are choices never have to be faced with a gun pointed at them and left mere seconds to make the choice....
4
A cop should, wait, double check, KNOW for certain that he should or should not shoot. And yes, that will cost a few more officers their lives. That is what I pay them to do. I do not pay them to be the fastest, meanest, quickest on the trigger. I pay them to put themselves in harms way to protect us all.
Even, and especially, some stupid 12 year old kid. He needed protection.
Even, and especially, some stupid 12 year old kid. He needed protection.
7
Whoa....this is NOT at all the same as, say, the Michael Brown shooting. The video starts BEFORE the police even get there and ends a half hour later, well after the incident is over. The fact that the police rendered no aid is absolutely apparent from the video, unlike the Michael Brown videos, which really didn't capture much. It's also 100% clear they stopped the boy's sister from rendering aid as well. So, honestly, your comment is pretty off-base here. Moreover, the article makes clear one of the officers involved had to leave a previous police job due to lack of composure during weapons training and lack of firearms discipline.
13
No one is arguing that police have a dangerous, difficult and often thankless job. And we can probably all agree that a kid carrying a real looking gun with the orange cap removed is a terrible idea. But this article is not about the reaction of an officer to a gun - fake tor real - and whether the shooting was "justified". It is about:
1. the fact that the person shot lay there for four minutes with no aid whatsoever until an FBI agent who happened to live in the area showed up (why didn't they tackle and cuff him?)
2. the child's sister was summarily tackled, cuffed and put in a cruiser (perhaps she could have helped stop the bleeding or at least comforted her brother as he lay dying)
3. the lack of review of a negative personnel file from a neighboring police force by the Cleveland PD
Not sure what your point was in your first comment. "Rendered no aid" means exactly that. What difference does it make when the child actually died? Finally, these are not "good samaritans"; they are police officers. And good samaritans are protected by laws. Not sure where the "lawsuit after lawsuit" data comes from since you didn't cite any examples.
1. the fact that the person shot lay there for four minutes with no aid whatsoever until an FBI agent who happened to live in the area showed up (why didn't they tackle and cuff him?)
2. the child's sister was summarily tackled, cuffed and put in a cruiser (perhaps she could have helped stop the bleeding or at least comforted her brother as he lay dying)
3. the lack of review of a negative personnel file from a neighboring police force by the Cleveland PD
Not sure what your point was in your first comment. "Rendered no aid" means exactly that. What difference does it make when the child actually died? Finally, these are not "good samaritans"; they are police officers. And good samaritans are protected by laws. Not sure where the "lawsuit after lawsuit" data comes from since you didn't cite any examples.
15
To drive their car within 10 feet from a 12 year old kid and shoot him within seconds, and that while no one else is in danger and then leaving him on the ground to die while locking up his 14 year old sister is beyond reasoning. Life in prison sentence minimum.
86
Our thoughts dictate our actions. These two police officers had to make assumptions or premises from which to base their actions. So if we examine their actions and extrapolate backwards to what kind of preconceived notions or premises they were operating from, it seems clear that they are not qualified to wear the uniform. I question their training and maturity.
25
For shame. If the law enforcement community thinks that the civilian public; that is, the majority of U.S. citizens, of any race, gender, or ethnicity, are going to look the other way with respect to behavior like this, they are mistaken.
And another thing- we need more racial and gender diversity, higher education levels, more sensitivity training, and less nepotism in law enforcement.
And another thing- we need more racial and gender diversity, higher education levels, more sensitivity training, and less nepotism in law enforcement.
20
The behavior of the police officers in failing to provide aid was despicable and indefensible, inhuman in fact. They should be terminated straightaway. Whoever was stupid enough to hire them and let them work as police officers for the City of Cleveland should leave as well.
31
That poor little boy, his sister and family. How can any parent not be heartbroken and enraged by this? On top of this senseless killing, the inhumanity evidenced by the police not rendering aid is beyond imagining.
The Cleveland police department never looked at this officer's previous personnel file. Had they looked, it would have been apparent he should never have been allowed to handle a weapon.
The Cleveland police department never looked at this officer's previous personnel file. Had they looked, it would have been apparent he should never have been allowed to handle a weapon.
21
When this shooting first occurred, the Guardian had the video that shows the police driving pell mell to the scene and shooting almost the instant they arrived. I was astonished that this was the police method of arriving at the scene - to drive within a few feet, hop out of the car, and shoot to kill? I thought that it was clear there was a serious deficiency in police training, they were just like cowboys in a bad movie. It is unbelievable. Now, this news, oh my goodness. If the police officer is not indicted for murder, the entire department is guilty of murder. What is going on? And the NYC cops defying authority and turning their backs on their boss? Is every police department so ugly??? Heroes??? I don't think so.
64
It seems that many commenters critical of the cops in this case feel obliged to say something to the effect that the actions of a "few cops" shouldn't color our perception of all cops.
To this I would counter that we're talking about a far, far more than a relative few: the Blue Code of Silence implicates all cops wherever police brutality and misconduct occurs.
And I would add that police brutality and misconduct are far, far more common than the vast majority of comfortable "middle class" Americans are willing to acknowledge.
To this I would counter that we're talking about a far, far more than a relative few: the Blue Code of Silence implicates all cops wherever police brutality and misconduct occurs.
And I would add that police brutality and misconduct are far, far more common than the vast majority of comfortable "middle class" Americans are willing to acknowledge.
44
Amazing thing is that it shows what cowards these police were. And unfortunately it applies to many if not most police.
9
We should not be angry with all cops after viewing the serious crimes some of them have committed. We should be very angry with the bad cops and their leaders that allow police rules to be wrong and/or not followed. If my daughter or grand daughter was handcuffed as in the Cleveland case, I would give two seconds to the cop to release her or I would use a gun on him in defense of my rights. Bless the good and thoughtful cops and out with their bad brothers and leaders. But who is leading this purge?
1
Until the so-called "good cops" stand up to the blue wall of silence and stop protecting the "bad cops" instead of us, we the citizens are right not to trust or respect any of them.
3
12 year olds can be quite big these days. As we all see, people shoot at police at unpredictable times and without provocation. And from afar it's impossible to tell if the gun is a toy. Unfortunately what the police did is reasonable.
Parents should not buy toy guns for children and they should tell them not to point them at policemen. Of course children watch about 50 murders a day on various media, so they see this movement all the time and copy it.
Parents should not buy toy guns for children and they should tell them not to point them at policemen. Of course children watch about 50 murders a day on various media, so they see this movement all the time and copy it.
3
So your solution is to let "quite big" 12 year olds be shot and bleed to death without giving aid because they should have known better. This does not sound "reasonable".
16
I see. And you doubtless think that a shot intended to kill should be fired within seconds of the arrival of police - not even enough time to yell 'drop it' - just shoot to kill and let the boy lie there bleeding to death without calling for help because that's how policing is properly done in a civil society, is that it?
18
It is not reasonable to shoot first and ask questions later.
14
These videos -- the police killing Tamir Rice, then not rendering aid, and watching the French policeman being killed. I cannot watch them. But what does it say about our society when violence is such the norm that these can be seen on the front page of the website of the newspaper of record and most people don't think twice about how abnormal this is.
5
It's much more effective to provide an actual video. That family wanted it to be seen by the public. Without showing the video, many could say:
"oh they wayyy over-dramatized that story, it surely could not have happened that way. Police would n-e-v-e-r act that way, and the kid was probably a little thug anyways. Maybe we should focus our attention on the production methods of toy guns. I just never believe this happened the way they wrote it up. You know how those "communist-hipster" protestors seem to always get their way with mainstream media. I'm certain the actions of the police were ordained by God. Right, I'll only believe if I were to ever see the video and they'll probably never do that."
But.. public opinion CAN be changed dramatically after viewing a video. That's why they posted it. Right, if you can't watch, then don't. I don't think in this case it means "something" about our society at all. People want to SEE what actually happened with they own eyes. I think people feel the information pertaining to an important case like this could have been easily turned away from the public and this needed to be shown. If they had put it on the back side of the news, that would have been stupid.
"oh they wayyy over-dramatized that story, it surely could not have happened that way. Police would n-e-v-e-r act that way, and the kid was probably a little thug anyways. Maybe we should focus our attention on the production methods of toy guns. I just never believe this happened the way they wrote it up. You know how those "communist-hipster" protestors seem to always get their way with mainstream media. I'm certain the actions of the police were ordained by God. Right, I'll only believe if I were to ever see the video and they'll probably never do that."
But.. public opinion CAN be changed dramatically after viewing a video. That's why they posted it. Right, if you can't watch, then don't. I don't think in this case it means "something" about our society at all. People want to SEE what actually happened with they own eyes. I think people feel the information pertaining to an important case like this could have been easily turned away from the public and this needed to be shown. If they had put it on the back side of the news, that would have been stupid.
12
It has to be seen because many refuse to believe that the police conduct themselves in this manner, even with video evidence. If people aren't made aware of these atrocities there is no hope of stopping them. Hopefully most people would rather see the unpleasant stuff and do something to stop it as opposed to living with their heads in the sand.
15
Nauseating. To know it happened is one thing; to see it is jolting. I can't believe the poor family had to live through this. I can't imagine a mother watching that video.
19
How can this Police department hope to have citizens' trust or respect when they stood by while a child, guilty of nothing, died and his family kept at bay?
35
Good comment by Rebecca Rabinowitz. When I saw the video of Eric Garner being chocked the most horrifying part was that he was left lying on the ground form many minutes surrounded by police who must know basic first aid. They seemed shocked by what had happened and no one dared to try to resuscitate him. Waiting that long almost assured that he would die. Is there an official policy on this? Allowing the 12 year old to bleed to death and handcuffing his young sister is also shocking.
21
Actually, there's a BIG difference between this and the Garner case. In the Garner case, paramedics were there VERY quickly, according to most reporting. In this case, the kid's lying on the ground for at least 15 minutes with NO aid whatsoever.
Bill- there is no excuse in the Garner case either!
10
The EMTs were not there very quickly. Several times onlookers asked the cops why they were not performing CPR or any technique to resuscitate Garner. When I watch the video I see a bunch of cops who couldn't care less about Garner, topped off by Panteleo (the choker) WAVING at the camera. Totally despicable and callous.
5
I watched the video and it is absolutely horrible. The mere fact that they treated his grieving sister the way they did was the damning factor. She had done nothing at all and they brutally forced her to the ground for no cause. What astounds me is how we destroy all other organized unions except the police unions. I'm politically independent and I am against unions. Take union status from police,...they have to be held accountable when they do wrong! No one is above the law of our land.
13
This country desperately needs to police the police, who are completely out of control.
We appear to have a Blue Wall of Thin-Skinned Fear and Gross Incompetence policing the nation.
We appear to have a Blue Wall of Thin-Skinned Fear and Gross Incompetence policing the nation.
46
After his dismissal from the suburban Independence, OH, force, Timothy Loehmann spent about over a year looking for another police job in the Cleveland area. Applying to become a deputy in the Cuhahoga County sheriff's department (includes the city of Cleveland and its suburbs), he took two tests: one for physical fitness (passed), and a "cognitive" exam, on which he scored 46 out of 100 (passing score was 70). To put this in context, several applicants who took the same test at the same time scored between 90 and 100. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/timothy_loehmann_the_cl...
The issue in the homicide of Tamir Rice is not racial per se; it's about the conduct of a policeman who is part of a department found by the Justice Dept to have consistently used excessive force. Might not the same issue be found elsewhere, from Staten Island to Ferguson, MO, and beyond?
Loehmann's dismal score on a cognitive test administered by the sheriff's department in the same county where he eventually got a job as a patrolman on the city force suggests there might be an issue besides race to examine in the current spate of questionable police actions.
The issue in the homicide of Tamir Rice is not racial per se; it's about the conduct of a policeman who is part of a department found by the Justice Dept to have consistently used excessive force. Might not the same issue be found elsewhere, from Staten Island to Ferguson, MO, and beyond?
Loehmann's dismal score on a cognitive test administered by the sheriff's department in the same county where he eventually got a job as a patrolman on the city force suggests there might be an issue besides race to examine in the current spate of questionable police actions.
30
No, it's race.......black lives matter
5
Ok, well then so do white lives. Now does that make any sense?
All one can say with certainty at this point is that there will be no indictment and no criminal consequences. Loehmann will be let go, maybe, and in all likelihood will be hired by another dept. There will be a civil suit and Cleveland will pay the family an undisclosed amount - blood money if you will.
9
How can you say ANY of that "with certainty" ??? There's zero basis for your claims that it's "certain" there won't be any criminal consequences. Of all the recent cases, I actually think this is the one where the families have the greatest chance of securing an indictment. What's the basis for your assertion?
1
Zero reason to believe that? Where are you from? Videos don't matter, witnesses don't matter - the biogtry of the DA and his hand picked grand jury matter.
2
Watching the video it's incomprehensible how they could misread the boy's body language: He is clearly just curious about why the car is pulling up and not showing any threat at all. But even if someone were to assert that they felt threatened by him, there is absolutely NOTHING that can justify what they did to the sister. I feel heartbroken for the family! Let's hope that this is the last straw that will finally turn things around!
15
"Officer Loehmann, 26, who fired the fatal shot, had quit a suburban police force after his supervisors determined two years ago that he had had a “dangerous loss of composure” during firearms training and was emotionally unprepared to cope with stresses of the job."
He was not fit to be a cop or to have a gun.
Tell that to the jury, Officer Loehmann.
All you NYPD apologists, please tell us again how it is Mayor DeBlasio who has blood on his hands.
He was not fit to be a cop or to have a gun.
Tell that to the jury, Officer Loehmann.
All you NYPD apologists, please tell us again how it is Mayor DeBlasio who has blood on his hands.
60
Oh my God.
10
Shoot him, then watch him die.
Serve and protect what? Not human life.
Serve and protect what? Not human life.
29
"Officer Loehmann, 26, who fired the fatal shot, had quit a suburban police force after his supervisors determined two years ago that he had had a “dangerous loss of composure” during firearms training and was emotionally unprepared to cope with stresses of the job. The Cleveland police acknowledged that they had never reviewed the previous police personnel file of Officer Loehmann."
????
This shows the shoddy desperation of the Cleveland P.D. to get officers out on the street in any capacity.
I hope there is a a real look at this in the coverup, er inquiry, that ensues.
????
This shows the shoddy desperation of the Cleveland P.D. to get officers out on the street in any capacity.
I hope there is a a real look at this in the coverup, er inquiry, that ensues.
12
Lest we not forget:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/us/justice-dept-inquiry-finds-abuses-b...®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/us/justice-dept-inquiry-finds-abuses-b...®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
1
Evidently, Black lives don't matter.
13
JAF,
It is not black lives, it is human lives. They would have shot me even quicker than they shot the kid. I'm white and 62. But I have no doubt after watching the video, my 6'4" would have made the officer fear for his life. He'd have shot me, and then that little 'get together' 20 minutes later? Out by the command vehicle on the street? That was a , 'get their stories straight'. They then checked the sister in the car, walked to the scene opposite the first vehicle, and then back to confer. There could be no evidence left of any kind after 25 officers had all walked around in the snow and stomped out any evidence possible. Except the 'word of an officer'.
It is not black lives, it is human lives. They would have shot me even quicker than they shot the kid. I'm white and 62. But I have no doubt after watching the video, my 6'4" would have made the officer fear for his life. He'd have shot me, and then that little 'get together' 20 minutes later? Out by the command vehicle on the street? That was a , 'get their stories straight'. They then checked the sister in the car, walked to the scene opposite the first vehicle, and then back to confer. There could be no evidence left of any kind after 25 officers had all walked around in the snow and stomped out any evidence possible. Except the 'word of an officer'.
9
Deanalfred:
I have a doubt that they would shoot a 62-year-old white man. I have a very serious doubt. So, yes, it is Black lives.
I have a doubt that they would shoot a 62-year-old white man. I have a very serious doubt. So, yes, it is Black lives.
7
Well, let's wait to hear what a Grand Jury has to say about that!
2
Not guilty.
2
It's shocking!!Those policemen are still walking the streets?
8
I don't know if they're walking the streets. The article says, "Both officers have been placed on restricted duty."
But something tells me they're still on the payroll...
But something tells me they're still on the payroll...
3
These cops didn't even asses the situation. Just blindly shot the boy and let him die. Then they tackle his 14 year old sister?
Guilty of murder... period.
Guilty of murder... period.
30
After 9/11, the world said, "I am American. "
After the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the world says, "I am Charlie."
After this senseless killing of young Tamir Rice by police, it is time to say,
"I am Tamir (and Michael Brown and Eric Garner...)"
After the Charlie Hebdo massacre, the world says, "I am Charlie."
After this senseless killing of young Tamir Rice by police, it is time to say,
"I am Tamir (and Michael Brown and Eric Garner...)"
17
in New York we say "I can't breathe"
10
This video should be shown to all police so they know what a complete lack of humanity looks like.
18
This kind of behavior has to stop - everywhere in this supposedly 'free' country. Shame on the Cleveland police force HR department for never checking Officer Loehmann's prior suburban police force background. Clearly he was not "law officer" material. For that matter, what in the name of God, was his partner thinking not to try to administer aid to the child shot in the abdomen by his partner? These officers' behavior was inhuman and I do not blame at all, the communities of color and their supporters (of which I am one) for raising hell and continuing to do so, until all our police forces act with humanity, integrity and lack of racism.
44
Regardless of whether this was a legally justified police shooting, it was unacceptable for cops to stand idly by after their suspect was incapacitated and on the ground. Even our soldiers are required to render medical aid to wounded enemy combatants they find on the battlefield. But at the same time this inexcusable tragedy should not be used to condemn all police officers. Cops are individuals. There are good and bad. Competent and incompetent. This video shows these cops to be, at least, incompetent, if not worse.
110
While I agree with the statement that this video should not be used to condemn all police officers, this video should be sent to the head of the NYC police union. With the FIRM statement that we, the public, recognize that 90% of police officers are hard working, good people but a subset of officers need to be removed from the force before they kill innocent people. And the problem with the union is that their Prime Directive is to defend absolutely every officer regardless of what whether they deserve to remain on the force.
17
A suspect? 12 year old !!!! They shot a child and felt no help him until the medics arrived- I can't even wrap my head around that!
7
To Beantownah:
Yes, cops are individuals, both good and bad. I suspect there are more good than bad.
Even if there is only ONE bad cop, however, that leads me to be cautious of ALL cops: How am I, after all, able to know which is which?
Yes, cops are individuals, both good and bad. I suspect there are more good than bad.
Even if there is only ONE bad cop, however, that leads me to be cautious of ALL cops: How am I, after all, able to know which is which?
I am a 58 year-old African-American father of 4 sons and a daughter. I never thought we would arrive to the year 2015 still discussing this kind of sickening behavior by law enforcement officers throughout our nation. I could not imagine these tragedies that occur regularly in the black community ever happening in white neighborhoods or to white children. Had Tamir Rice been a 12 year-old white boy, would we be having this discussion?
What is more disgusting is the doubling down by the police unions who have lost and ability or willingness to be reasonable or respectful of anyone else's point of view. The behavior and attitudes of the NYPD officers and union officials (see Officer Steve Osborn's op-ed in today's nytimes), the St Louis and Ferguson, MO law enforcement and States Attorney, these Cleveland police officers, etc. dishonors our communities and every peace officer who truly desires to protect and serve. Sadly, they will circle the wagons and excuse the indefensible behavior of those among them who treat minority citizens with shameful, callous, and murderous indifference. This is the world my children and I live in every day!
Thank God for every American, regardless of the color of their skin, who is willing to stand tall and make it known that this is not the America we choose to live in.
What is more disgusting is the doubling down by the police unions who have lost and ability or willingness to be reasonable or respectful of anyone else's point of view. The behavior and attitudes of the NYPD officers and union officials (see Officer Steve Osborn's op-ed in today's nytimes), the St Louis and Ferguson, MO law enforcement and States Attorney, these Cleveland police officers, etc. dishonors our communities and every peace officer who truly desires to protect and serve. Sadly, they will circle the wagons and excuse the indefensible behavior of those among them who treat minority citizens with shameful, callous, and murderous indifference. This is the world my children and I live in every day!
Thank God for every American, regardless of the color of their skin, who is willing to stand tall and make it known that this is not the America we choose to live in.
292
I stand with you, Mr. Blue. I cannot imagine the unbearable pain Tamir's family must be going through right now. And his sister, treated like a criminal, forced to sit and watch as her little brother die. I imagine black parents having to tell their children to be cautious around police - the very people who are suppose to protect them. What a horrible conversation to have with your child. The entire time I watched this video I sat waiting desperately for someone, anyone, to help Tamir. And then I waited (in vain) hoping that someone, anyone would open the door to the police car and comfort his sister. How cruel can you possibly be? My heartfelt condolences to the family. How angry you must feel. I am angry. I am I am so sorry for your loss - it was completely preventable and these policemen should be held accountable for their incredibly thoughtless actions. I am also puzzled that there appeared to be plenty of time for numerous other officers to arrive, walk around, string yellow crime scene tape, but no one had time for the defenseless, innocent CHILD who lay dying alone, with his sister watching. Heart-breaking.
28
I am a older white man who cannot possibly claim to fully comprehend the things you have had to put up with.
I can tell you though, that even with my limited understanding, I share your outrage and determination to change this.
I can tell you though, that even with my limited understanding, I share your outrage and determination to change this.
31
My friend, EABlue,
I'm white, your age, two kids,,,, black may have something to do with it,,, but it is deeper than that. They shot a human, one of our children. They shot exactly who they swore to serve and protect, a stupid 12 year old,,,, all 12 year olds are stupid,,, all need to be served and protected.
The level of training, judgement is absolutely lacking in that video,,,disgusting. Disheartening. I am fairly sure had it been me sitting on that bench, under the gazebo, white and 62, unarmed, but 6'4" and strong,,, Officer Loehmann would have shot me even quicker.
I'm white, your age, two kids,,,, black may have something to do with it,,, but it is deeper than that. They shot a human, one of our children. They shot exactly who they swore to serve and protect, a stupid 12 year old,,,, all 12 year olds are stupid,,, all need to be served and protected.
The level of training, judgement is absolutely lacking in that video,,,disgusting. Disheartening. I am fairly sure had it been me sitting on that bench, under the gazebo, white and 62, unarmed, but 6'4" and strong,,, Officer Loehmann would have shot me even quicker.
1
You know that after 911 and the Patriot Act, some folks were concerned that our increased security was not worth the loss of liberty it would cost us. I think that we are reaping what we have sown. We've built our police departments into well armed paramilitary units but without the discipline and accountability of the real military. Does this really surprise us? It shouldn't. We knew or should have known what would happen. We've known since the founding fathers that he who would trade liberty for security obtains neither.
22
And just think, the cops are turning their backs on de Blasio for warning his son to be careful around police.
97
It is hard to imagine that City Police Officers are not taught how to stop bleeding and CPR. Military personnel, Fire fighters, Transit workers(CPR), and other government workers are taught basic life-saving techniques. But that begs the question: the killers had no intention of saving the boys life; that is not their purpose. Their purpose is to defend the class of people in power, in the best neighborhoods, in the business community, the banks, and other symbols of power and property. Defenders of the law? Whose law?
Certainly not the law that Tamir had on his side.
Certainly not the law that Tamir had on his side.
24
I have a family member who is a fire chief and another family member who is a paramedic. They respond to emergencies all the time. I can't imagine them acting in the manner that these cops, who are supposedly trained to respond to emergencies, did. There's something wrong with these cops. They are completely unqualified for the job they're supposed to be doing, as were the cops and EMS workers present at the Eric Garner killing, who did nothing to aid an injured and dying person. They just let them die ... because they were black.
43
Sickening. I have been following coverage of this murder since it happened and have been marching in protests in California, carrying a sign with Tamir Rice's name on it. Many people who know all about Ferguson, Brown, Garner, Grant, Martin, and all the others do not know Tamir Rice's name.
Everyone should know his name and this story.
I march for him and his family.
Everyone should know his name and this story.
I march for him and his family.
37
The entire series of missteps is unthinkable. Two seconds for the officer to fatally shoot a child, without even warning him "drop your weapon" or "freeze," all in response to a person witnessing a weapon, maybe fake, being displayed. Not offering help to a dying child, when medical aid has been offered to actual dangerous suspects wounded in pursuit. Threatening horrified family members from going to a dying innocent loved one. If this tragedy doesn't result in reforms and retraining, I don't know what will.
53
This is just more evidence to show the cops think they are above the law. Until cops have to face justice for acts like this. The cops will keep acting above the law.
27
Let's see what happens with the grand jury in this case. Cleveland. How will the prosecutor handle it? Will it be another miscarriage of justice? Or will there be some semblance of justice for this kid and his family?
I am a white man and I can't imagine what it must be like to be a black mother or father reading about these shootings day in and day out. I applaud Mayor DeBlasio for standing up to the cops here and educating his son about how to deal with them.
I am a white man and I can't imagine what it must be like to be a black mother or father reading about these shootings day in and day out. I applaud Mayor DeBlasio for standing up to the cops here and educating his son about how to deal with them.
74
From Artie in Cincinnati "This is so disturbing. What excuse can possibly be offered for such behavior by those two policemen? "
Did you just move to America? Watch us easily find reasons/justifications for this barbaric act. The 12-year looked "dangerous", his 14-year old sister had an "attitude", one or both of their parents had a history of "problems" with law enforcement. The cops were "stressed out" with their job. Just wait. The 12 and 14 year olds will become the "cause of this tragedy". Sad but predictably true.
Did you just move to America? Watch us easily find reasons/justifications for this barbaric act. The 12-year looked "dangerous", his 14-year old sister had an "attitude", one or both of their parents had a history of "problems" with law enforcement. The cops were "stressed out" with their job. Just wait. The 12 and 14 year olds will become the "cause of this tragedy". Sad but predictably true.
35
I am not a person of color, and I am horrified and outraged by the additional video material. I generally support and respect the police, and I value the service of the good ones, but there is not one action taken by the officers in this video that is "good" policing. I cannot believe that their only response to shooting a child was to tackle and handcuff another child, his distraught sister. We're talking about a 12 year old and a 14 year old! In a playground! Outside a recreation center that serves kids! My God.
And meanwhile, there's a movement by white people to promote the "open carry" of long guns and military style weapons in places like supermarkets. I haven't seen any of those folks getting shot "accidentally" by police.
And meanwhile, there's a movement by white people to promote the "open carry" of long guns and military style weapons in places like supermarkets. I haven't seen any of those folks getting shot "accidentally" by police.
141
These days we are all persons of color.
1
One of the fundamental causes of so many of these problems is an "Us vs Them" attitude on the part of both the police and the populations they are hired to "serve and protect."
I'm not sure how to fix it, but I would think a large statistical disparity in the racial makeup of the two groups is part of the issue.
I'm not sure how to fix it, but I would think a large statistical disparity in the racial makeup of the two groups is part of the issue.
13
I wish that everyone entrusted with firearms would need to reach a threshold of emotional maturity, a standard which Officer Loehmann clearly would not have met.
22
But a 12 year old child is mature enough to be entrusted with a firearm? Hmm I'm not sure about that.
1
There is one hell of a big difference between a real gun and a toy one.
4
Tamir was not "entrusted with a fire arm." He was playing around with a toy gun. Apparently not even his own.
4
This video is a stark reminder of what is at stake when people criticize police behavior and the way that black people are treated differently than white people. It also underscores just how petty and misguided the NYPD looks in their response to Mayor de Blassio's comments about the advice he gave his black son for dealing with police encounters. The police need to have thicker skin when they are criticized for their role in killing people.
The mayor did not throw the police under the bus, as they like to claim. The mayor was talking about how police encounters are too often hostile for black people. It's time for the police to face the mayor, stop acting like children, and learn how to handle criticism on issues that are far too serious for childish antics.
There are real problems with police behavior that cannot be fixed until we have an honest dialogue about them. The police who refuse to acknowledge these problems or participate in these discussions should turn in their badge and gun, then turn their back on the mayor one last time as they walk away and look for another job.
The mayor did not throw the police under the bus, as they like to claim. The mayor was talking about how police encounters are too often hostile for black people. It's time for the police to face the mayor, stop acting like children, and learn how to handle criticism on issues that are far too serious for childish antics.
There are real problems with police behavior that cannot be fixed until we have an honest dialogue about them. The police who refuse to acknowledge these problems or participate in these discussions should turn in their badge and gun, then turn their back on the mayor one last time as they walk away and look for another job.
143
I regard myself as moderate (the Brown case was a tragedy, but the Garner killing with an illegal chokehold warrants punishing the officer) with regard to my attitudes towards the police, and believe I have more to fear from random crime than from the police who are expected to protect us.
However, these 2 Cleveland police officers are an absolute travesty. Trying to refrain from harsh language -- but "moronic" would be the least of the words going through my mind. The fact that the police car was quickly driven on the snowy grass in a park, into a situation that was not reported as an immanent threat to anyone, was reckless and may have threatened a collision with anyone who may have been in that park.
In addition, (needlessly, recklessly) driving right up to the boy who was alleged to have a gun, provided no time to react in a safe manner. And failing to provide aid to a child, is indeed depraved.
Any parent with a boy who likes toy guns and/or boys who like to play outside (practically all boys), would see police like this as a threat to the lives of their children.
However, these 2 Cleveland police officers are an absolute travesty. Trying to refrain from harsh language -- but "moronic" would be the least of the words going through my mind. The fact that the police car was quickly driven on the snowy grass in a park, into a situation that was not reported as an immanent threat to anyone, was reckless and may have threatened a collision with anyone who may have been in that park.
In addition, (needlessly, recklessly) driving right up to the boy who was alleged to have a gun, provided no time to react in a safe manner. And failing to provide aid to a child, is indeed depraved.
Any parent with a boy who likes toy guns and/or boys who like to play outside (practically all boys), would see police like this as a threat to the lives of their children.
66
Simply unbelievable. This case, and the killing of Eric Garner in NY city, points to the need for much better training for police officers. In neither case was the victim a danger to society. Illegal cigarette sales? A 12 year old with a fake gun? I can't help but think that there are thousands of police officers who would have dealt with these two situations in a completely different manner, and both victims would still be alive. To all the good officers out there, quit backing these guys. It ruins public trust for all of you. In both these cases, there is no excuse for the outcomes.
71
This is completely infuriating. I thought I was furious when I saw the first released short video of the cop shooting Tamir within two seconds, clearly not giving him time to surrender. But this, with them standing around and stepping over the body of a still-living twelve year old, dying from being gutshot, this proves to me that this cop is a sociopath. Not only is there no way he should ever have been a cop to begin with, he shouldn't walk free again until he's considered cured of his mental illness. If that's never, that's fine.
To me, the killing of Mr. Brown in Ferguson was somewhat justifiable; he was attacking the cop, the cop feared for his life, he panicked, and Mr. Brown brought events on himself. The death of Mr. Garner in Staten Island was a horrible accident, but I couldn't see it as murder, since it looked unintentional and mostly due to Mr. Garner's bad health. The cop who applied the chokehold should be fired I think, but not jailed, just given probation and other punishments.
But this is cold-blooded murder. I can't see any possible justification and there had better well be justice done here, with Mr. Garmback tried and convicted of homicide.
On a side note, before anyone leaps to the conclusion that all law enforcers are bad, there's a hero in this story too, the FBI agent who just happened on the scene and tried to save the boy's life, despite not being a medic. He failed, but at least he tried.
To me, the killing of Mr. Brown in Ferguson was somewhat justifiable; he was attacking the cop, the cop feared for his life, he panicked, and Mr. Brown brought events on himself. The death of Mr. Garner in Staten Island was a horrible accident, but I couldn't see it as murder, since it looked unintentional and mostly due to Mr. Garner's bad health. The cop who applied the chokehold should be fired I think, but not jailed, just given probation and other punishments.
But this is cold-blooded murder. I can't see any possible justification and there had better well be justice done here, with Mr. Garmback tried and convicted of homicide.
On a side note, before anyone leaps to the conclusion that all law enforcers are bad, there's a hero in this story too, the FBI agent who just happened on the scene and tried to save the boy's life, despite not being a medic. He failed, but at least he tried.
26
"Hero" is evidently anyone who does what everyone should do? It shouldn't take a hero to give aid to a bleeding, dying child. I am starting to hate that word. Nothing personal.
9
I couldn't agree more with your view that the cop who shot this child is a psychopath. He was completely lacking in emotional empathy and compassion.
4
Michael Brown was also gunned down by a psychopath who got angry and murderous after the initial physical encounter, and so was Treyvon Martin. Anyone who believe George Zimmerman's head was attacked with concrete as the lieawyer Mark Omera so effectively pointed out should never be allowed to have a drivers license.
8
At a minimum, it is time to abolish grand juries. The system is useless for protecting the falsely accused and serves only to shield prosecutors who don't want to take responsibility when law enforcement commits a crime.
Much though I grieve for the two police officers murdered in New York--and I do, deeply--I grieve even more for a 12-year-old child left bleeding to death on the sidewalk, a father shot dead as he shopped in a mall, and a long long list of other private citizens wantonly killed on their own streets. So when street protests resume, I will be there.
Much though I grieve for the two police officers murdered in New York--and I do, deeply--I grieve even more for a 12-year-old child left bleeding to death on the sidewalk, a father shot dead as he shopped in a mall, and a long long list of other private citizens wantonly killed on their own streets. So when street protests resume, I will be there.
36
I am a light-eyed, white professional and I am afraid of the police. For example, last week I crossed the street to avoid passing by about six LA police speaking to a black woman in downtown LA. If I were a black male, I think I would be afraid to leave my house - and even at home I still would be afraid the police would serve an erroneous warrant and come in and shoot me!
All police should be held accountable with their conduct reviewed by independent special prosecutors. Until then, there will be more brutality and death at their hands with no accountability.
As well, police culture has to change towards more of a community service role. One step in that direction is to have police cars and uniforms not be dark and intimidating. Rather, they should be brightly colored and friendly appearing. This would help the cops feel and act less like a macho gang and would help make them appear more friendly to us citizens.
All police should be held accountable with their conduct reviewed by independent special prosecutors. Until then, there will be more brutality and death at their hands with no accountability.
As well, police culture has to change towards more of a community service role. One step in that direction is to have police cars and uniforms not be dark and intimidating. Rather, they should be brightly colored and friendly appearing. This would help the cops feel and act less like a macho gang and would help make them appear more friendly to us citizens.
22
Earlier today I read NYPD Officer Steve Osborn's op-ed, "Why We're So Mad at de Blasio," in which he earnestly explains how the mayor and citizens should unilaterally respect police officers, the implication being that police everywhere have such difficult jobs that they are beyond criticism.
Now I'm wondering if he and his colleagues would have the nerve to watch this horrific video, and if so, whether they might spend a few minutes reflecting on the topic of "Why So Many Americans Are So Mad About Police Malfeasance."
Now I'm wondering if he and his colleagues would have the nerve to watch this horrific video, and if so, whether they might spend a few minutes reflecting on the topic of "Why So Many Americans Are So Mad About Police Malfeasance."
706
There is nothing that the police do that Osborne, Lynch, Mullins, etc. cannot rationalize or justify. Remember these are the people who supported and defended the five and more NYPD officers who sodomized Abner Louima with a broomstick.
37
I wonder how many cops in NYC actually read the paper. My bet is there aren't many unfortunately. This paper is too intellectual for them.
11
I am a 71-year-old white woman who is brought to despair in the realization that there is a terrible, deep-seated fury and loathing within the ranks of the police across this beloved country.
That fury seems to have many faces -- a resentment toward people they perceive to be weak or vulnerable or poor or any kind of potential "bother."
Add to that fear. They are afraid and inadequate to the very real demands of their jobs.
They feel ignored, threatened and angry about being poorly paid and ordered to fill quotas by ambitious bureaucrats above them.
They are totally isolated from the communities they serve--they never physically get out of their cars to walk the streets.
They feel free to do as they please -- to turn their backs, to shoot, to disrespect and harass.
No one looks at policing as a serious career any longer.
It may be a way to pull oneself up out of poverty, to get a pension and retire quickly, and rack up some overtime.
It is a disaster for the country, for the rule of law, for all of us.
That fury seems to have many faces -- a resentment toward people they perceive to be weak or vulnerable or poor or any kind of potential "bother."
Add to that fear. They are afraid and inadequate to the very real demands of their jobs.
They feel ignored, threatened and angry about being poorly paid and ordered to fill quotas by ambitious bureaucrats above them.
They are totally isolated from the communities they serve--they never physically get out of their cars to walk the streets.
They feel free to do as they please -- to turn their backs, to shoot, to disrespect and harass.
No one looks at policing as a serious career any longer.
It may be a way to pull oneself up out of poverty, to get a pension and retire quickly, and rack up some overtime.
It is a disaster for the country, for the rule of law, for all of us.
226
Thank you for your honest analysis. It speaks for millions of us….to say the least, there is a scary disconnect; forget about trust..…
7
very, very sad. When will we learn our own safety depends on humane, nurturing, and kind treatment of the world's youth? The more they are marginalized, the more dangerous the world becomes for us all...and what a cruel waste of human potential and happiness.
24
Sickening. I have been following coverage of this murder since it happened and have been marching in protests in California, carrying a sign with Tamir Rice's name on it. Many people who know all about Ferguson, Brown, Garner, Grant, Martin, and all the others do not know Tamir Rice's name.
Everyone should know his name and this story.
I march for him and his family.
Everyone should know his name and this story.
I march for him and his family.
98
thank you Old Catholic for marching. I hope you're also praying. :-)
2
More and more, I am ashamed of my country. The cops' behavior was unspeakable and inhumane. How could any human being react as they did (or did not)?
119
Thank you Betsy. Respect is earned. In the face of such inhuman display of character, how is the pubic suppose to feel safe and learn to respect and trust our police force?
10
What does Lt. Osborne gave to say about this? This entire event is horrific and I hope those cops remember this got the rest of their lives (in prison)
35
What will it take for society to say " enough"?
55
Sickening. Bone chilling. Criminal, baked in brutality. I cannot find words to express the outrage I feel watching this.
Haven't we seen enough of how the police, nationwide, are overtaking our towns and cities, and criminalizing innocent people -- adults and children.
When is this country going to rise up en masse against this? If this were Europe, the government would have fallen by now and general elections and mass investigations and trials begun.
What is it in the American collective psyche that allows this torture and assault of the citizenry to go on?
Haven't we had enough by now?
Haven't we seen enough of how the police, nationwide, are overtaking our towns and cities, and criminalizing innocent people -- adults and children.
When is this country going to rise up en masse against this? If this were Europe, the government would have fallen by now and general elections and mass investigations and trials begun.
What is it in the American collective psyche that allows this torture and assault of the citizenry to go on?
Haven't we had enough by now?
160
Unfortunately it is too cold for people to take the streets and stay there. We'll have to wait a few months more. But I think we can be sure now that it will happen.
Why? We still haven't gotten over our long episode of slavery. I don't know if we ever will.
This video is very revealing on many different levels.
The first and likely the most important is that the officer fired on the child within moments of arrival. Key also is the fact that the patrol car pulled right up next to the child, leaving the officers no safety zone, no ability to duck behind the patrol car and thus no time to consider what their actions should be. By pulling in so fast, so close, the officers cut off all of their options. It was either shoot or be prepared to be shot at, in their view, at close range.
From start to finish this was overly aggressive police action, but it is not untypical. A similar set of events unfolded last summer near Ferguson, Missouri, in the shooting death by officers of an apparently deranged man with a gun. The officers pulled in close to the man, leaving themselves no time, no options.
The way the sister was treated is also revealing. She was a "perp" left sitting on the ground, in the snow. No respect is due a perp. The fact that her little brother was dying a few feet away didn't matter.
As for the officers going to the aid of the child, they might have instructions not to render aid because they are not trained paramedics. Still, I can't imagine they wouldn't help one of their own who had been shot.
Are America's police officers allowed to kill just because they perceive a threat and when they increase the threat with an aggressive approach? Apparently, now they are.
Doug Terry
The first and likely the most important is that the officer fired on the child within moments of arrival. Key also is the fact that the patrol car pulled right up next to the child, leaving the officers no safety zone, no ability to duck behind the patrol car and thus no time to consider what their actions should be. By pulling in so fast, so close, the officers cut off all of their options. It was either shoot or be prepared to be shot at, in their view, at close range.
From start to finish this was overly aggressive police action, but it is not untypical. A similar set of events unfolded last summer near Ferguson, Missouri, in the shooting death by officers of an apparently deranged man with a gun. The officers pulled in close to the man, leaving themselves no time, no options.
The way the sister was treated is also revealing. She was a "perp" left sitting on the ground, in the snow. No respect is due a perp. The fact that her little brother was dying a few feet away didn't matter.
As for the officers going to the aid of the child, they might have instructions not to render aid because they are not trained paramedics. Still, I can't imagine they wouldn't help one of their own who had been shot.
Are America's police officers allowed to kill just because they perceive a threat and when they increase the threat with an aggressive approach? Apparently, now they are.
Doug Terry
181
Exactly.
Why would police who thought they would be confronting an armed person roll right up next to the suspect? If the suspect was up to no good, the police would likely found themselves injured or dead.
Does anyone remember Columbine? There many of the sheriffs hid behind their patrol cars and stayed clear of windows while gunfire and explosions decimated the students inside. They took nearly 4 hours to secure the scene.
The officers in Cleveland killed this young man in seconds.
There has to be some qualifications to be a police officer.
Why would police who thought they would be confronting an armed person roll right up next to the suspect? If the suspect was up to no good, the police would likely found themselves injured or dead.
Does anyone remember Columbine? There many of the sheriffs hid behind their patrol cars and stayed clear of windows while gunfire and explosions decimated the students inside. They took nearly 4 hours to secure the scene.
The officers in Cleveland killed this young man in seconds.
There has to be some qualifications to be a police officer.
22
Re officers not giving aid because they aren't trained paramedics: really? police officers aren't expected to give an injured person first aid? stop a wound from bleeding?
8
"A similar set of events unfolded last summer near Ferguson" in the city of St. Louis. A young black man named Kajieme Powell, who appeared to be somewhat disturbed but who did not appear to be dangerous, was shot a dozen times (six shots each) by two police officers within 20 seconds of their arrival on the scene. Police initially claimed that Mr. Powell threatened them with a "small knife" (exact size never specified) in an "overhand grip;" a videotape showed no such thing happened; no knife was ever visible. We still do not know the names of the two police officers and no action has been taken against them. Thank you for remembering Mr. Powell, whose killing was hardly acknowledged in the wake of the Ferguson killing and subsequent unrest.
5
It is abundantly clear that the relationship of local prosecutors to a police force they must work with daily and the deficiencies of the grand jury system do not work well to resolve these types of issues. A special prosecutor should be engaged and some judicial mechanism must be employed to allow for a thorough airing of the facts. The secrecy of Grand Jury proceedings does not engender faith in communities that already have issues with uneven policing.
Medical professionals and others with life saving training risk being sued for failure to provide aide, but these fellas get to stand around and watch a 12 year old die, and inflict untold amounts of life-long emotional distress on his 14 year old sister.
You normally have to enter a battlefield of war to encounter such wanton indifference to human life. The fact that the City of Cleveland failed it's responsibility of due-diligence in the hiring of the one officer is pathetic, embarrassing and a further indication that they do not sufficiently value the lives of their citizens.
The City should settle this case quickly and openly, order a department wide review of use of force and hiring procedures, and move swiftly to build new bridges to the communities they serve.
Medical professionals and others with life saving training risk being sued for failure to provide aide, but these fellas get to stand around and watch a 12 year old die, and inflict untold amounts of life-long emotional distress on his 14 year old sister.
You normally have to enter a battlefield of war to encounter such wanton indifference to human life. The fact that the City of Cleveland failed it's responsibility of due-diligence in the hiring of the one officer is pathetic, embarrassing and a further indication that they do not sufficiently value the lives of their citizens.
The City should settle this case quickly and openly, order a department wide review of use of force and hiring procedures, and move swiftly to build new bridges to the communities they serve.
289
Sadly, not that many years ago the FBI DID investigate the Cleveland Police and I believe made recommendations, a plan to improve. You could check out the details if interested, but still, it did not prevent the hiring of a clearly unqualified dangerous individual! Hard to understand. I was born and raised in that city and am now deeply ashamed by what was once an admirable city with great schools, for one thing.
9
The city of Cleveland shouldn't settle this case, it should go to trial with charges of - at the very minimum - manslaughter and criminal negligence, if not murder in the 3rd degree.
1
Sadly, these police officers acted per their training. This little boy lay dying as they watched his life slip away.
20
There is no legitimate police training that teaches officers to drive right up next to a suspected armed person without heed for either party's safety, immediately shoot the person, stand around without providing aid, tackle and restrain a bystander or family member, then LIE through their teeth about their actions in their official reports.
25
I believe their training required them to render aid once they had determined that he was no longer a threat.
9
To me, this case is far more egregious than either the shooting of Michael Brown or the death of Eric Garner. The fact that they rendered no aid is sickening. Sad beyond comprehension.
247
You speak the truth.
2
Well, there's a lot of competition out there for the "most egregious" award, but from the victim's and their families and also for society as a whole, let's try to avoid ranking tragedy.
1
Sorry, M. You are correct in that grief is unquantifiable. I was trying to express my confusion as to why this case, which I have been following closely, has gone largely unnoticed.
The officers have been placed on "Restricted duty". How outrageous!! Those two belong in jail!
234
Those Cleveland cops are murderers in cold blood. And get away with it.
52
Only when police officers can be arrested for homicide will these murders stop.
1
This is beyond "police brutality." It is sick, sadistic, cold-bloodedly cruel behavior.
332
Sounds like a big time lawsuit against the department. Too bad it won't include hard time for the shooter. And the cops who stood there while the kid bled to death.
105
....a big time lawsuit wd eventually be paid for by taxpayers...
1
This video tells a compelling story. They don't even check on the boy's condition; then they tackle the sister. Both are obviously young people.
God help the black people of this country when it comes to the police.
God help the black people of this country when it comes to the police.
197
Horrifying. Changes must be made, in Cleveland, and elsewhere. Shame shame shame. On all of us. I cannot imagine the pain and anger the family is going through. Changes must be made.
54
These officers need two years mandated service in a hospice to re-encounter their humanity. The police union's silence speaks volumes.
58
When humanity is lost, so goes a nation!
3
Two years? That would allow them to be out in public with guns and badges again. We can't let that happen.
12
I would not want to inflict these officers on dying people in a hospice.
Jail time is the appropriate sentence.
Jail time is the appropriate sentence.
8
I think the investigation on this case needs to proceed with all due haste. The clear evidence shows that the Cleveland police were criminally negligent and incompetent at best and murderers at worst.
165
I heard tonight on the news that the investigation has been passed on to the Sheriff's office in Cleveland, fyi.
1
Me too. And I'd love to see a few police officers comment here too in support of swift justice, but rather I imagine they would scoff at the notion. Their bald-faced criminality is merely par for the course. They have no shame. In fact we can only conclude that they are proud of their actions.
3
Too busy tackling and cuffing a 14 year old girl to worry about the 12 year old boy they just shot? What has this country come to? Just horrible. With crime a historic all time lows, including violence against the police, why is there an epidemic of police violence against citizens? Especially children.
436
This is very hard to hear. What a horrible thing for a child to have to go through. He might still have died, but they should have tried to help.
61
The inaction by these officers as this boy lay dying is almost more painful to watch than the shooting itself. Albeit the video is time-compressed, but the post-shooting moments in video make them appear to wallow in their emotions. I'm surprised they had the presence of mind to tackle the other child, as they seemed otherwise oblivious.
I understand AG Holder is investigating the Cleveland force based on many egregious episodes, but justice cannot come too swiftly. "Restricted duty" is no punishment at all for such a callous disregard for human life.
I understand AG Holder is investigating the Cleveland force based on many egregious episodes, but justice cannot come too swiftly. "Restricted duty" is no punishment at all for such a callous disregard for human life.
191
Depraved, not callous.
3
I believe this is what is called "depraved indifference."
463
That is exactly what it is, depraved. Is it any wonder that African-American citizens in this county use the words, black lives matter when demonstrating? How anyone with an ounce of humanity can read this account and not be sickened and outraged is beyond me. Sadly, some commenters will find a way to support the action of these two policemen, I suspect.
My deepest condolences to Tamir Rice's sister and other family members.
My deepest condolences to Tamir Rice's sister and other family members.
44
As long as the Blue Wall of Silence continues, there will be no reconciliation. It's time for cops to speak out against these atrocities.
25
This is so disturbing. What excuse can possibly be offered for such behavior by those two policemen? What kind of a country are we to continue to tolerate this? Yes, the police put their live on the line every day. I understand that. But this kind of reckless, brutal behavior is outrageous. I suspect that we'll shortly be told that what we've seen in this video didn't actually happen the way it looks. For shame America.
215
Sadly, this appears to reflect a pattern of shocking failure to render emergency aid to people shot by police officers: Michael Brown was left bleeding on the roadway while Darren Wilson stood on the curb talking with another officer, but no one made any attempt to summon emergency assistance. James Garner was assaulted by a bevy of police officers, and although there was an emergency response team at the scene, they made no effort whatsoever to assist him, despite his obvious breathing distress. Now we learn that police permitted a 12 year old child to die on the sidewalk after shooting him, and rather than summon emergency aid, thought it more prudent to tackle and handcuff his agitated 14 year old sister instead. These stories are played out every day across the nation - while the majority of police officers are honorable and do their best to serve their communities, there remains a reflexive refusal by strident extremists such as Patrick Lynch, to support full and impartial citizen oversight of egregious police misconduct. It is long past time for the police to accept that they are not above the law, and that police misconduct is a scourge upon all of them, requiring swift remedial action.
352
Sorry, I'm not so sure that the majority of police personnel are honorable, especially the NYPD.
5
This would suggest nothing other than an utter lack of sufficient training, and apparently no regard on the part of these officers. It only took a moment for these officers to assume the separate roles of patrolman, jury, judge, and executioner. Having satisfied themselves that the boy no longer posed any danger to themselves or anyone else, they should have rendered some assistance, particularly in light of their tragic error of judgment. For people's lives to be in the hands of officers so grossly inept truly reveals the need for a complete overhaul in hiring practices, training procedures, and policies to ensure accountability not only of patrolmen, but the departments they work for.
391
Not inept....cruel, sadistic and barbaric. Monsters.
15
As I have commented at other places, with all due respect, police officers cannot plead or have the benefit of the excuse of "lack of or insufficient training" in the execution of their duties of law enforcement anymore than a licensed lawyer can plead ignorance of the law or a medical doctor can claim insufficient medical training.
Licensed drivers cannot plead ignorance of relevant traffic laws if they violate them while operating a motor vehicle on public thoroughfares. If you voluntarily assume a professional role you are held wholly accountable and completely liable for all actions executed within the scope of professional role or position assumed.
Licensed drivers cannot plead ignorance of relevant traffic laws if they violate them while operating a motor vehicle on public thoroughfares. If you voluntarily assume a professional role you are held wholly accountable and completely liable for all actions executed within the scope of professional role or position assumed.
18
Lack of training? You have got to be kidding. Respect for human life and compassion do not require "training".
The footage is too grainy to see but I was just waiting for those cops to light up a couple of cigarettes and take a break any minute....
And I bet in the end there will be no charges and no consequences.
The footage is too grainy to see but I was just waiting for those cops to light up a couple of cigarettes and take a break any minute....
And I bet in the end there will be no charges and no consequences.
17
This story becomes ever more heartbreaking.
64
I repeat my call for a national bad cop database. Once cops are shown to be unfit for their job, they shouldn't be able to just start at a new department with a clean slate. To not track their history presents a liability for the hiring agency and a risk to citizens at large.
200
we can't even find a cop guilty of the smallest crime....how wd we ever get names entered into a "bad cop database?" I'm sure the police dept would not help.
6
You are right. But, it takes more. It takes supervisors, sheriffs and chiefs willing to do their jobs and go through the aggravation of documenting bad behavior and firing the cops who should be fired, rather than letting them resign first, just to be rid of them ...at their office. There has to be some sense of responsibility for what could happen if the guy continues to have a badge and a gun in another town.
If you read the story in NYT about the SC chief of police currently on trial for murder, it does not report what was reported at the time by local papers. This chief had been allowed to resign from previous LE jobs in the vicinity before the little town hired him. He should have never been there.
If you read the story in NYT about the SC chief of police currently on trial for murder, it does not report what was reported at the time by local papers. This chief had been allowed to resign from previous LE jobs in the vicinity before the little town hired him. He should have never been there.
God, please help us! As a 59 year old black man, reading this story, my eyes were brought to tears. All I can say is man's inhumanity to man will cause the nation's ruin!! When will these officers be indicted???
387
Thx. for sharing.
Live in Cleveland. Facts not in the press. That part of town is almost exclusively Caucasian most people of color who live near there are assumed to come from public housing projects. There is a hx. of tensions with any group of color near there. That said, the incident occurred at a community center used by the everyone. A place to play bball, swim etc.. Just the place where a young person should go to play with friends. Worked as a mental health social worker going everywhere for decades at all hours of the day or night...even places that the police were reluctant to go by themselves. People worked with didn't have a lot of money. Never had any problem. Can't ever imagine a situation that is an excuse for engaging in a gun fight with someone without first verbally engaging them.
I'm beginning to wonder. I know questionable police incidents has been going on forever in this country. Yet, the officers involved in these shootings are new to the work and relatively inexperienced and seemingly very young. Is part of what we are seeing is the effect of police who are a little more experienced are all retiring? Another factor is the police are learning what we (including our politicians) all should know. With the proliferation of cell phone video cams and CCTV....Don't do anything in public that you would be embarrassed to have seen plastered world wide on the news or Youtube. Police work is going to have to adjust to this change.
Live in Cleveland. Facts not in the press. That part of town is almost exclusively Caucasian most people of color who live near there are assumed to come from public housing projects. There is a hx. of tensions with any group of color near there. That said, the incident occurred at a community center used by the everyone. A place to play bball, swim etc.. Just the place where a young person should go to play with friends. Worked as a mental health social worker going everywhere for decades at all hours of the day or night...even places that the police were reluctant to go by themselves. People worked with didn't have a lot of money. Never had any problem. Can't ever imagine a situation that is an excuse for engaging in a gun fight with someone without first verbally engaging them.
I'm beginning to wonder. I know questionable police incidents has been going on forever in this country. Yet, the officers involved in these shootings are new to the work and relatively inexperienced and seemingly very young. Is part of what we are seeing is the effect of police who are a little more experienced are all retiring? Another factor is the police are learning what we (including our politicians) all should know. With the proliferation of cell phone video cams and CCTV....Don't do anything in public that you would be embarrassed to have seen plastered world wide on the news or Youtube. Police work is going to have to adjust to this change.
11
If they are too young and inexperienced to to have sound judgement why in the world are they hired and sent out fully armed into our communities?
That child was executed and his sister and mother abused. I call it inhumanity and depraved indifference to human life.
Does anyone still wonder why the protests against abusive policing have caught on? This has struck a nerve country wide because we collectively cannot take it anymore. It isn't anti-police. It is anti police-brutality.
That child was executed and his sister and mother abused. I call it inhumanity and depraved indifference to human life.
Does anyone still wonder why the protests against abusive policing have caught on? This has struck a nerve country wide because we collectively cannot take it anymore. It isn't anti-police. It is anti police-brutality.
10
"Another factor is the police are learning what we (including our politicians) all should know. With the proliferation of cell phone video cams and CCTV....Don't do anything in public that you would be embarrassed to have seen plastered world wide on the news or Youtube. Police work is going to have to adjust to this change."
You must be joking. These actions are disgusting whether or not they can be easily filmed and seen by everyone.
You must be joking. These actions are disgusting whether or not they can be easily filmed and seen by everyone.
1
AAUGH!!!
Monstrous behavior by the police in this bleak incident.
Monstrous behavior by the police in this bleak incident.
45
The fact that they would not aid the boy or permit others to do so shows intent to kill in my view.
413
It reminds me of how a local police force dispatched with a rabid raccoon on a friend's property. They showed up. Shot it. And waited around for someone else to clean up the mess.
16
Not daring to be flippant but 'showing intent to kill' means there was thinking going on between the two officers. I suggest the opposite. There was no thinking going on.
A rookie officer got flummoxed (there are harsher words, I know).
The child is not coming back. However the city of Cleveland please review your hiring policies.
The rookie officer is going to have this over him the rest of his life. I don't know what good jail time will do. Remove his badge and more importantly gun. As to the senior officer, welcome to doing public safety seminars in elementary schools for the rest of your career.
A rookie officer got flummoxed (there are harsher words, I know).
The child is not coming back. However the city of Cleveland please review your hiring policies.
The rookie officer is going to have this over him the rest of his life. I don't know what good jail time will do. Remove his badge and more importantly gun. As to the senior officer, welcome to doing public safety seminars in elementary schools for the rest of your career.
16
If the "state" pay the salary of the police, what does that say about the city, the state, the nation?
9