A boy aged 12 has been shot twice and killed by police in Cleveland because he was carrying a toy gun in a playground.
A police officer opened up on the small boy after his instructions to raise both hands were not heeded.
The officer in question had only been with the force for under a year, but was accompanied by his partner who has over 10 years’ experience.
A call came in form a member of the public which the officers were responding to. The caller apparently stating that the boy kept pulling the gun from his trousers and was harassing kids with it, but that they “don’t know if it’s real or not.” The officers were not informed of the caller’s words.
No Verbal Threat
Sadly, although the boy, named Tamir Rice, did not say a word, make a threat, or open fire on the officers, they killed him in the playground and are both now indefinitely suspended from duty pension a full investigation.
The police force in Cleveland are constantly under scrutiny. In 2012 they ended up firing 137 shots during a high speed car chase which ended with two dead. The family of the boy and their lawyers are preforming their own investigation to ascertain if civil action can be brought against the trigger-happy cops.