10-12-2015, 10:32 AM
Hindsight has nothing to do with it unless you're suggesting that the two responding officers were blind when they arrived at the park.
Do you acknowledge that police have a responsibility to assess the situation and respond appropriately to a 911 dispatch?
When the responding officers got to the park, Tamir was sitting ALONE with no one else in sight, he was not waving or brandishing a gun, and he did not try to elude police. He was just sitting there in the gazebo posing no immediate threat to anyone, and the officers were not responding to a 'shots fired' or 'shooting in progress' call or anything like that.
The officers know their incompetence put them in the unreasonable position of reasonably fearing for their lives (regardless of the fact that they couldn't have known Tamir's age or the fact that he had only a pellet gun on him).
That's why they lied and said the gun was on the table and there were people around Tamir when they got there. That's why they blamed "wet grass" for wrongly rushing him when the video revealed they were lying. That's why they refuse to cooperate with investigators. That's why I think there's little doubt the family will prevail in a civil liability case.
Still, those two cops should not only be held liable civilly, they should not be put back on public patrol. I think they present a danger to the pubic they swore to protect; I think it's clear that Tamir Rice is dead due to the gross incompetence of two Cleveland PD officers.
Do you acknowledge that police have a responsibility to assess the situation and respond appropriately to a 911 dispatch?
When the responding officers got to the park, Tamir was sitting ALONE with no one else in sight, he was not waving or brandishing a gun, and he did not try to elude police. He was just sitting there in the gazebo posing no immediate threat to anyone, and the officers were not responding to a 'shots fired' or 'shooting in progress' call or anything like that.
The officers know their incompetence put them in the unreasonable position of reasonably fearing for their lives (regardless of the fact that they couldn't have known Tamir's age or the fact that he had only a pellet gun on him).
That's why they lied and said the gun was on the table and there were people around Tamir when they got there. That's why they blamed "wet grass" for wrongly rushing him when the video revealed they were lying. That's why they refuse to cooperate with investigators. That's why I think there's little doubt the family will prevail in a civil liability case.
Still, those two cops should not only be held liable civilly, they should not be put back on public patrol. I think they present a danger to the pubic they swore to protect; I think it's clear that Tamir Rice is dead due to the gross incompetence of two Cleveland PD officers.