Dear Editor:
From an 11/21 article on Tamir Rice's mother; "Rice 39, struggles with grief but also with anger and frustration that no one has been held accountable for Tamir's death and with what she said are the racially driven fears of officers who injudiciously kill members of what she calls the 'black and brown community.'"
This young man was 12 years old, he was old enough to know the difference between right and wrong actions.
The police officer who shot him had received a report of a black man pointing a gun at people in a park. Video from the park shows this to be true.
Rice had a replica handgun with the orange tip removed. The orange tip would have identified the gun was a replica and not a real handgun.
Rice did not comply with the officers demands that he drop the gun.
Reports by two outside investigators concluded that the shooting was reasonable under the circumstances.
A grand jury chose not to indict the officers.
A year ago the U.S. Department of Justice said it would review the case. I could find nothing that indicates they found any wrongdoing on the part of the officers.
Adults did not teach this young man that pointing a handgun at people was wrong.
Adults did not teach this you man that a pointing replica handgun at people, one from which the orange "safety" tip had been removed, was dangerous.
Adults did not teach this young man that refusing to obey police commands was dangerous.
Adults did not teach this young man that pointing a weapon at police officers was dangerous.
I suggest that the adult/s in charge of this young man (his parent/s?) bear that vast majority of the responsibility for the tragedy of his death.
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