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| Tamir Rice's mother on Donald Trump: 'I wish he wasn't coming here' | Tamir Rice's mother on Donald Trump: 'I wish he wasn't coming here' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Samaria Rice has one message for Donald Trump, the tycoon who is in Cleveland this week to be anointed as the Republican party’s candidate for president: “I wish he wasn’t coming here. | Samaria Rice has one message for Donald Trump, the tycoon who is in Cleveland this week to be anointed as the Republican party’s candidate for president: “I wish he wasn’t coming here. |
| “Donald Trump doesn’t really care about the murders of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and other young men,” Rice said, sitting on a bench close to the spot where, in November 2014, her 12-year-old son was shot dead by a white Cleveland police officer as he played with a plastic pellet gun. | |
| “I don’t really think that he has a need to care, because I don’t believe that he cares for African American people anyway,” she said. | “I don’t really think that he has a need to care, because I don’t believe that he cares for African American people anyway,” she said. |
| Related: Tamir Rice is 'moral conscience' for activists one year after fatal shooting | Related: Tamir Rice is 'moral conscience' for activists one year after fatal shooting |
| Rice, 39, has taken a decision to leave town when the Republican national convention begins on Monday. As an expected 50,000 people descend on Cleveland, she will be in New York, mourning with the family of Eric Garner on the two-year anniversary of the 43-year-old’s death in police custody. | Rice, 39, has taken a decision to leave town when the Republican national convention begins on Monday. As an expected 50,000 people descend on Cleveland, she will be in New York, mourning with the family of Eric Garner on the two-year anniversary of the 43-year-old’s death in police custody. |
| “I don’t know why he [Trump] felt the need to come to Cleveland and bring his entourage down here to mess up this beautiful city,” Rice said. | “I don’t know why he [Trump] felt the need to come to Cleveland and bring his entourage down here to mess up this beautiful city,” Rice said. |
| America’s already divisive debate on race and policing has intensified in the past two weeks as the fatal shootings of Castile in Minnesota and Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were followed by the fatal shooting of five officers in Dallas. | America’s already divisive debate on race and policing has intensified in the past two weeks as the fatal shootings of Castile in Minnesota and Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were followed by the fatal shooting of five officers in Dallas. |
| The heightened anxiety escalated dramatically on Sunday when three more police officers were shot dead in Baton Rouge. A motive remains unclear, but the shooter, who died at the scene, was said to be affiliated with an anti-government group. | The heightened anxiety escalated dramatically on Sunday when three more police officers were shot dead in Baton Rouge. A motive remains unclear, but the shooter, who died at the scene, was said to be affiliated with an anti-government group. |
| Barack Obama condemned the shootings on Sunday, saying: “Nothing justifies violence against law enforcement. Attacks on police are an attack on all of us, the rule of law that makes society possible.” | Barack Obama condemned the shootings on Sunday, saying: “Nothing justifies violence against law enforcement. Attacks on police are an attack on all of us, the rule of law that makes society possible.” |
| For Samaria Rice, who gave an extended interview to the Guardian last Thursday, the cycle of the latest developments are a difficult reminder. Both Sterling’s and Castile’s deaths were partially caught in distressing videos that went viral online. For Samaria Rice, the footage felt personal. Tamir’s death was also caught on video, and showed that the white Cleveland officers Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann skidded towards the 12-year-old in their patrol car after a 911 call reported a juvenile with a gun that was “probably fake”. Loehmann opened fire within two seconds of reaching the scene. | For Samaria Rice, who gave an extended interview to the Guardian last Thursday, the cycle of the latest developments are a difficult reminder. Both Sterling’s and Castile’s deaths were partially caught in distressing videos that went viral online. For Samaria Rice, the footage felt personal. Tamir’s death was also caught on video, and showed that the white Cleveland officers Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann skidded towards the 12-year-old in their patrol car after a 911 call reported a juvenile with a gun that was “probably fake”. Loehmann opened fire within two seconds of reaching the scene. |
| “When I see any of these murders ... it’s always like an open wound. It’s like the government is throwing more salt on the open wound, and I’m not having a chance to heal, because I’m still seeing police officers shoot people for no apparent reason, and that is bothering to me.” | “When I see any of these murders ... it’s always like an open wound. It’s like the government is throwing more salt on the open wound, and I’m not having a chance to heal, because I’m still seeing police officers shoot people for no apparent reason, and that is bothering to me.” |
| Trump’s handling of both these recent high-profile shootings alongside the police deaths in Dallas and Baton Rouge has been mixed. In a statement condemning the officer deaths in Dallas, Trump also described the shootings of Castile and Sterling as “senseless” but initially incorrectly referred to them both as “motorists”. The Republican, who has won the endorsement of dozens of police unions across the US, later described himself as the “law and order candidate”, leading to thinly veiled criticism from a coalition of senior law enforcement officials who have campaigned for meaningful sentencing reform as a way of reducing America’s soaring prison population. | Trump’s handling of both these recent high-profile shootings alongside the police deaths in Dallas and Baton Rouge has been mixed. In a statement condemning the officer deaths in Dallas, Trump also described the shootings of Castile and Sterling as “senseless” but initially incorrectly referred to them both as “motorists”. The Republican, who has won the endorsement of dozens of police unions across the US, later described himself as the “law and order candidate”, leading to thinly veiled criticism from a coalition of senior law enforcement officials who have campaigned for meaningful sentencing reform as a way of reducing America’s soaring prison population. |
| A recent poll indicated the billionaire was polling at 0% with African American voters in all of Ohio. | A recent poll indicated the billionaire was polling at 0% with African American voters in all of Ohio. |
| Cleveland, a majority African American city, where one third of residents live in poverty, is at the epicentre of this debate, which is likely to intensify as protests are expected from across the political spectrum throughout the city. | Cleveland, a majority African American city, where one third of residents live in poverty, is at the epicentre of this debate, which is likely to intensify as protests are expected from across the political spectrum throughout the city. |
| Within a month of Tamir’s death, the US Department of Justice released the findings of a scathing investigation into police practices in the city, opened after numerous reports of abuse, including the deaths of Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell, unarmed African Americans who were killed in 2012 after a white officer, Michael Brelo, climbed on to the hood of their vehicle and fired 15 times through the windshield. | Within a month of Tamir’s death, the US Department of Justice released the findings of a scathing investigation into police practices in the city, opened after numerous reports of abuse, including the deaths of Malissa Williams and Timothy Russell, unarmed African Americans who were killed in 2012 after a white officer, Michael Brelo, climbed on to the hood of their vehicle and fired 15 times through the windshield. |
| The justice department report accused Cleveland officers of being “chaotic and dangerous” in their practices and “violat[ing] basic constitutional precepts in their use of deadly and less lethal force at a rate that is highly significant”. | The justice department report accused Cleveland officers of being “chaotic and dangerous” in their practices and “violat[ing] basic constitutional precepts in their use of deadly and less lethal force at a rate that is highly significant”. |
| The department later entered into a consent decree with federal government, which included reforms of their use of force policy and the creation of a civilian monitor inside the department. | The department later entered into a consent decree with federal government, which included reforms of their use of force policy and the creation of a civilian monitor inside the department. |
| Local Republicans argue the reforms that occurred after Tamir’s death have begun to unite the city. “There were protests here,” said Doug Magill, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Republican Party, who applied for the convention to come to Cleveland two years ago. “But there were an awful lot of meetings, there were a lot forums, there was no violence.” | Local Republicans argue the reforms that occurred after Tamir’s death have begun to unite the city. “There were protests here,” said Doug Magill, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Republican Party, who applied for the convention to come to Cleveland two years ago. “But there were an awful lot of meetings, there were a lot forums, there was no violence.” |
| “I hate to say it this way, but it [Rice’s death] has been a positive,” Magill added. | “I hate to say it this way, but it [Rice’s death] has been a positive,” Magill added. |
| But a survey published last month reveals the city is still sharply divided along racial lines and attitudes to policing. While 72% of white residents said the department was doing a “good” or “excellent” job, only 43% of black residents agreed. | But a survey published last month reveals the city is still sharply divided along racial lines and attitudes to policing. While 72% of white residents said the department was doing a “good” or “excellent” job, only 43% of black residents agreed. |
| Although Tamir’s death was ruled justified by the Cuyahoga county prosecutor, Timothy McGinty, who was later voted out of office for his handling of the grand jury process, Samaria Rice still refers to the incident as murder. | Although Tamir’s death was ruled justified by the Cuyahoga county prosecutor, Timothy McGinty, who was later voted out of office for his handling of the grand jury process, Samaria Rice still refers to the incident as murder. |
| Piles of cuddly toys have remain stacked at the site where Tamir was shot, as children play on the swings nearby and three wooden crucifixes are dug into the ground. His mother said she only sleeps a few hours at night and lives with depression. | Piles of cuddly toys have remain stacked at the site where Tamir was shot, as children play on the swings nearby and three wooden crucifixes are dug into the ground. His mother said she only sleeps a few hours at night and lives with depression. |
| “Trying to get justice for Tamir, it helps me grieve, in a way, because I don’t want my son to have just died for nothing,” she said. “Keeping his legacy alive, keeping up awareness that makes me feel good. | “Trying to get justice for Tamir, it helps me grieve, in a way, because I don’t want my son to have just died for nothing,” she said. “Keeping his legacy alive, keeping up awareness that makes me feel good. |
| “That makes me feel that nobody will never forget about Tamir.” | “That makes me feel that nobody will never forget about Tamir.” |