Item number 1 that the offending cops apparently ran out of: Time.
Tamir Rice shooting tragedy: Editorial cartoon
by Jeff Darcy, Northeast Ohio Media Group; cleveland.com -- Nov 29, 2014
CLEVELAND, Ohio --
[...]
Reportedly,the cruiser flying up on the lawn, coming within two-feet of Tamir, was a tactic intended to cut off his intended escape path. It did that, but the speed in which cruiser moved and the officer shot, also appears to have cut off any time for Tamir to respond cooperatively.
Here's a newsflash for those trigger-happy cops:
Tamir did not put them in 'Harm's way' --
their own overly impulsive actions did that. There were many other ways they could have approached that situation. VERY unfortunately for the victim,
they chose the "gun's blazing" way.
Item numbers 2 and 3 that the offending cops apparently ran out of: The Clear Facts.
And any sense of Caution or Protocol.
[...]
There is no doubt that the officer was reacting to Tamir raising his shirt and reaching for his waistband. There's also no doubt the outcome might have been different if the officers placed their cruiser further back, got behind it, given Tamir different instructions, time to respond and most critically, were informed by dispatch that the "Gun Run" they were on was possibly a "Fake Gun Run" involving a child.
Knowing his gun was fake, and having the judgement of 12-year-old, Tamir was likely lifting his shirt to give his gun to police. Because of his age, he tragically was likely oblivious to how police would react to that.
This incident started with park visitors mistaking his toy gun for a real one because it was missing its orange cap. The missing cap wouldn't be an issue if toy guns weren't now made to look identical to real ones in the first place.
[...]
Item number 4 that was in very short supply that fateful day:
a streetwise 12-year-old, who realized that cops would "automatically" view him as a
Lethal Threat.
Item number 5 that was missing in action that fateful day: a childhood toy that actually looked like a toy. The realism of these "toys" should come a Surgeon's General warning: "that when used as intended, this product may result in your untimely Death."
But aren't Officers of the Law supposed to be trained, for just these scenarios: "kids with toy guns" ... ?
Does their training include: shoot anyone armed that moves ... as soon as they move ... ?
If it does, then they need some radically different training in the proper "Use of Force." Afterall, THEY are the ones wearing the 'vests.'
Having myself as a kid, walked around with a pellet gun at Tamir's age, I can't help thinking that could have been me ... except for one thing -- I'm White. The Big City cops patrolling my neighborhood would have given a White kid with a toy -- a chance to cooperate, I expect.
A luxury not always granted to a Black kid with a toy apparently. So much for the 'innocence of youth'. Whatever happened to "presumed innocent, until proven guilty" in a court of law ???
Some cops just "shoot first, and ask questions later." IF THAT is part of their training -- then something has seriously got to change.
Item number 6 in VERY short supply that day -- were "Questions for Tamir" -- the kid being a kid, never got the chance to answer a single one.