How much is a twelve year old boy’s life “worth?”
...a young boy with his entire life ahead of him, full of potential and promise.
The City of Cleveland just agreed the settle the wrongful death lawsuit Tamir Rice’s family brought for $6,000,000.
The city of Cleveland has agreed to pay $6 million to the family of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy gunned down [video] by police in November 2014, the Daily News has learned.
Under the terms of the settlement, the city does not admit wrongdoing in the shooting.
Tamir was shot and killed by cops who responded to an inaccurate 911 report of a man waving a gun near a park playground.
This is how society chooses to deal with its violent, poorly-trained and trigger-happy police: investigate, exonerate (Tamir Rice’s executioner, like so many others was never brought to trial, the District Attorney refused to indict) then make the taxpayers provide the families of those gunned down with blood money.
The family through its lawyers then issues the obligatory, undoubtedly heartfelt
Although it’s historic in financial terms, no amount of money can adequately compensate for the loss of a life...
Perhaps the family continues to speak out, perhaps not. but nothing changes — we just wait for the next police shooting caught on video, and watch in horror as a new family replaces the old, and the cycle repeats.
Update:
As usual, Shaun King expresses these sentiments better than I ever could:
Right now, in America, the message is abundantly clear. You can shoot a boy in the chest and ignore his well-being and get away with it if you’re a police officer.
You can choke a grandfather to death and ignore his pleas for a breath and get away with it if you are a police officer.
You can chase an unarmed teenage boy into his home and shoot him to death in front of his family and get away with it if you are a police officer.
You won’t lose your job. Your city will refuse to even admit a mistake. And taxpayers will foot the bill for any fallout.
This isn’t progress. This isn’t justice. This is a hot damn mess.