In 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was killed by a police officer. He was unarmed. He was playing with a toy gun in the park when police pulled up and fired two shots within two seconds.
On Monday, the city announced that the lawsuit filed by Rice's family in federal court had been settled for $6 million.
The head of the Cleveland police union could have responded with a basic statement identifying the tragedy and the loss involved. Instead, he responded yesterday evening by once again blaming Tamir Rice for his death.
We can only hope the Rice family and their attorneys will use a portion of this settlement to help educate the youth of Cleveland in the dangers associated with the mishandling of both real and facsimile firearms. Something positive must come from the tragic loss. That would be educating youth of the dangers of possessing a real or replica firearm.
Yes, that's who's at fault here. Toy guns. Tamir.
See more from the Washington Post, and read the whole letter.