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Cleveland police shooting: Boy with fake gun dies after being shot by Ohio officer Tamir Rice: Boy playing with fake gun dies after being shot by police in Ohio park
(about 12 hours later)
A 12-year-old boy shot by police after apparently grabbing what turned out to be a replica gun died from his wounds today, a day after officers responded to an emergency call about a someone waving a “probably fake” gun at a playground. A 12-year-old boy has been shot dead by police in the US as he played with a fake gun in a park.
Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said one officer fired twice after the boy pulled the fake weapon — which was lacking the orange safety indicator usually found on the muzzle — from his waistband but had not pointed it at police. Tamir Rice, who was black, died of his wounds yesterday in hospital after being shot twice in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday.
The boy did not make any verbal threats toward the officer or point the gun, but reached into his waistband and grabbed it after being told to raise his hands, Tomba said. A member of the public had phoned police saying people in the playground were scared by someone brandishing what looked like a gun.
"That's when the officer fired," he said. In a recording released by officials, the caller can be heard saying: “There’s a guy with a pistol…you know, it’s probably fake but he’s pointing it at everybody.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified the boy as Tamir Rice. An attorney for his family, Timothy Kucharski, said the boy went to the park with friends Saturday afternoon, but he did not know the details of what led to the shooting. “I don't know if it's real or not."
"I don't want to make a rush to judgment," he said. The 911 responder twice asked whether the boy was black or white before dispatching officers.
The police department is investigating the shooting but Kucharski said he wants to talk to witnesses himself and get more facts. When police arrived at the Cudell Recreation Center park, they told Tamir to raise his hands, deputy police chief Ed Tomba said.
"We're ultimately going to find out what happened," Kucharski said. When he allegedly took the replica gun from his waistband, an officer fired twice despite the fact the suspected weapon was not pointed at them and no threats were made. 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.
Police said the weapon was an "airsoft" type replica gun that resembled a semi-automatic handgun. The orange safety indicator had been removed, police said. Cleveland police are investigating the shooting and the two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave in accordance with procedure.
A man who called police told emergency dispatchers before police arrived that the boy was on a swing set and pointing a pistol that was "probably fake" and scaring everyone. Tamir’s father, Gregory Henderson, told local newspaper the Cleveland Plain Dealer that his son was a “respectful” young man and said the police should have tasered him instead of using live ammunition if they felt threatened.
The caller said the boy was pulling the gun in and out of his pants. "I don't know if it's real or not," the caller said. Referring to police, he added: “You 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.”
Jeff Follmer, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, said the officers were not told the caller thought the gun might be fake. After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors will present the case to a grand jury, which will decide whether the officer was justified in using deadly force against the boy.
The officer dispatched to the playground outside a city recreation center saw the pistol sitting on a table or bench, and watched the boy grab it and put it in his waistband, Follmer said. Cleveland police investigating a scene after an officer fired two shots, killing 12-year-old Tamir E. Rice A lawyer for Tamir’s family, Timothy Kucharski, said he had gone to the park with friends as normal on Saturday afternoon but did not know the details of what led to the shooting.
AP “We're ultimately going to find out what happened,” he added.
Jeff Follmer, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, said the officers involved were not told the caller thought the gun might be fake.
Tamir’s death has sparked calls for new laws in Ohio to require all BB guns, air rifles and airsoft guns sold in the state to be brightly marked to show they are fake. A similar bill is being implemented in California.
It comes after another black man with an air rifle was shot dead in Ohio in August.
John Crawford III, 22, was killed after a man called 911 to report he was carrying a gun in a Wal-Mart supermarket.
Police said they believed the air rifle Crawford had picked up was a real rifle and that he didn't respond to commands to drop it but his family said he had just picked it up from a shelf while shopping.
A special grand jury concluded police officers' actions were justified and the US Department of Justice is investigating.
The latest fatal police shooting comes as a grand jury in Missouri decides whether to indict a white police officer for shooting dead Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager.
His death in August sparked weeks of protests and unrest in Ferguson, St Louis, and a harsh crackdown by riot police with armoured vehicles and tear gas.
The case has drawn international attention to the treatment of young black men by police in the US, reigniting racial tensions in some communities.
Additional reporting by AP