Author: Michael McLaughlin
The two Cleveland police officers involved in the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice had told investigators they believed he was a grown man with a gun, when in fact he was an adolescent with a toy gun. Summaries of what officers Timothy Loehman and Frank Garmback said happened in the moments before Loehman fired two shots that killed Tamir at a playground have been heard before. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office shared the brief statements on Tuesday. "The suspect had a gun, had been threatening others with the weapon and had not obeyed our commands to show us his hands," Loehman wrote. "It was an active shooter situation." Loehman claimed that he and Garmback repeatedly yelled at Tamir to "show me your hands." But the video showed the officer open fire within two seconds of emerging from the police cruiser driven by Garmback.
The purpose of the article is to highlight the tyranny present in the current police force and justice system. If I have learnt anything from previous and similar cases like these is that the police officers will be let scot-free while the family grieves by themselves. America was built by people of colour but it was not built for them.
