12 year old Boy shot dead for carrying a fake gun
 

Oh I just read about that, awful, poor kid. Here's the link to that story :


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30172433

A 12-year-old boy has died after being shot by police in the US city of Cleveland, after carrying what turned out to be a replica gun in a playground.

Police say an officer fired two shots at Tamir Rice after he failed to obey an order to raise his hands.

He did not make any verbal threats nor point the gun towards the officers.

A lawyer representing his family said it would be carrying out its own investigation into what happened.

The incident comes as a grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri, will decide imminently whether to indict a police officer in the fatal shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.

http://i.imgur.com/BCSLCtZ.jpg

His shooting in August in Ferguson sparked days of violent protests in the town, prompting a heavy police crackdown.

'Airsoft'
The boy was shot on Saturday afternoon and died in hospital early on Sunday morning.

Cleveland deputy police chief Ed Tomba said the boy was shot twice after pulling the gun from the waistband of his trousers.


Tamir Rice had a "baby face" according to his family's lawyer Timothy Kucharski
Police said the weapon was an "airsoft" replica gun that resembled a semi-automatic pistol, adding that an orange safety indicator had been removed.

An audio recording of the 911 emergency call made by the man who reported the incident reveals that on two occasions he said that the pistol was "probably a fake" and on another occasion that the person holding it "was probably a juvenile".

The caller also said that he was not sure whether the weapon was "real or not".

But Jeff Follmer, president of the Cleveland police association, said the two officers at the scene were not told about the caller's comments.

One of the officers involved was in his first year on the local force, the other had more than 10 years of experience.

The BBC's David Willis in Washington says an official investigation is under way and both officers have been placed on administrative leave.

Tamir Rice's father, Gregory Henderson, said that police should have used a stun gun - or Taser - to subdue his son rather than shoot him.

"Why not Tase him?" he was quoted as asking by Cleveland.com. "[They] shot him twice, not once, and at the end of the day you all don't shoot for the legs, you shoot for the upper body," he said.

Mr Henderson said that Tamir was a "respectful young man" who "minded his elders", and that it was a mystery to him why his son, reported to be tall for his age, allegedly did not follow police orders.

In this case he was Told what to do
he did not.


When police say drop it
you do it fast in America


Its a tragic case
but the Police were doing their job

Yeah but he was a 12 year old child, why did they not Taser him or if they had to shoot, why not the leg or something, why shoot to kill?

because they thought he had a gun and was waving it around. i can't think of many things more dangerous than a 12 y/o with a gun.

Have you ever tried to reason with a 12 y/o?

on the street of the USA you cant risk it. The gun looks real to me and the kid looks older than 12

He doesn't look that old and the person who reported it mentioned atleast twice to the operator that the gun was probably fake and that the boy was most likely a juvenile

I do not know about the Taser lack of use.



Yes we find out after
he was a 12 year old playing with a toy.


In America
ok in you home
but to let a child run around
was not good.


Tragic and sad loss

yes but if you are a cop in the line of duty "probably a fake" can get you killed and your wife a widow..

Not to mention how often we hear about kids finding their parents guns. We are constantly being told by the liberal media how often kids take their parents guns, so it's not a stretch to believe a 12 y/o might have a real gun.

That comes with the job though, they should be trained to react more cautiously especially when they're armed and dealing with a juvenile

Its hard to judge the tensions in that area, what the cop had experienced that week, what he saw etc. But as arista says - when a cop says down, you go down and you dont play with replica guns in the street no matter what age you are

my son is always playing with toy guns, firing them out the window of the car and pretending to shoot people in the supermarket, our police aren't armed here thankfully and people don't automatically assume he's a crazy 10 year old killer

yes, small boy LT hangs out the window with his Uzi 9mm assassinating people like he is in GTA V :joker:

but round here aint USA

Terrible, another example of a corrupt and racist police force. It's a shame that, ultimately, crimes like these are doomed to repeat themselves.

The gun was an "airsoft" type replica that resembled a semi-automatic handgun. Fake weapons normally have an orange safety indicator on the muzzle but it had been removed, police said.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/...d-460x276.jpeg


The boy did not make any verbal threats but grabbed the replica handgun after being told to raise his hands.

You play with fire...

Yes No Orange plastic
so could be Real.



Police were just doing their Job



Parents in America know the score

No Dezzy
check LT's photo of the gun the kid had

Agree with Niamh.

There are very few incidents of 12 years old shooting cops so I think the cops might have used a bit more common sense.

Also the fact that the emergency call mentioned a number of times that he thought it was fake should also have been taken into consideration. I find it saddening the way the Police are allowed to use such strong arm tactics on children and some people think its justified.

Considering how quick they are to use them, you'd think a fully trained officer could be able to tell the difference between a toy and the real thing as well.

Never mind the fact that, if there was a situation, the police officer should have diffused the situation calmly or at worst use non lethal force, not shoot a child and realise his mistake afterwards. At best he is an incompetent officer that murdered a child, at worst he is an incompetent racist officer who racially profiled the child and tackled the situation with extreme prejudice.

Would this officer be so quick to fire if the child was white? I think not.

they had no idea what age he was and as has been said before kids can get guns easily from homes in USA

he was told to go down but he went for the gun

the cop has a split second to make a decision

The cop had more than enough info to make a better call. I note that the police are now saying they didnt have the info that the gun may be fake. Its utter incompetence at best and something much more sinister at worse.

Yes he would
if you do not follow the cops instructions
it will be fatal

Heres another piece of rank incompetence. Starts at about 30 seconds.



Absolute ******ing disgrace and this happened just a few months ago. The cop tells the man to get his ID he goes for it and still gets lit up with the Cop saying he 'Dove' for it. What utter garbage, the man obeyed the officers instruction if the pofficer wanted him to move slower then he should have said 'SLOWLY get your ID'. Thank god this tw*t has been fired. I dont see how any one can defend these wanaqbee soldiers.

Well that'll serve people right; no carrying fake guns :fist: