Petition to be delivered to Loretta Lynch, US Attorney General
It is simple. Tamir Rice deserves a new grand jury. A Department of Justice investigation of the prosecutor’s conduct with the grand jury. And the immediate removal and firing of the police officer
On December 28th, a grand jury decided not to charge the police officer who shot and killed Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old Black boy who was playing with a toy gun at a Cleveland park.1 Will you join me in demanding justice for Tamir? Click here to sign the petition to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
The petition says:
It is simple. Tamir Rice deserves a new grand jury. A Department of Justice investigation of the prosecutor’s conduct with the grand jury. And the immediate removal and firing of the police officer.
Yesterday, yet another Black child’s life was rendered disposable, not by a grand jury of his peers, because he was only 12 years old. His peers are not even old enough to serve on a jury.
Petition Background
Tamir Rice was murdered by law enforcement. His only crime was being a 12-year-old Black male child in a poor neighborhood. Those factors alone robbed him of his youth, robbed him of protection, and robbed him of any benefit of the doubt.
And then Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty robbed him and his family of all due process under the law.2 If we are a nation of laws, then those laws should apply equally to all citizens. If we are a nation of compassion, then that compassion should not be determined by the color of one’s skin. If we are a nation of justice, then that justice must be available to everyone.
Sign the petition now to demand justice for Tamir Rice.
Even when filmed, the killing of a Black child is rendered justifiable.
Even in an open-carry state, the killing of a Black child carrying a pellet gun is rendered justifiable.
Even in a playground with no sign of threat, the killing of a Black child is rendered justifiable.
Within two seconds of the arrival of the police, it is acceptable that a 12-year-old is dead.
We demand a thorough investigation into the killing of Tamir Rice. We demand equal protection of Black children, both under the law and, when necessary, from those hired to enforce the law.
Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.
Thanks for all you do.
—Reverend Traci D. Blackmon
Sources:
1. “Cleveland Officer Will Not Face Charges in Tamir Rice Shooting Death,” The New York Times, December 28, 2015
http://act.moveon.org/go/462?t=6&akid=160676.17611408.5pAbys
2. “Officers Won’t Be Charged for Killing Tamir Rice as Family Says Prosecutor ‘Abused’ Grand Jury Process,” Slate, December 28, 2015
http://act.moveon.org/go/474?t=8&akid=160676.17611408.5pAbys
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
EDITOR: OB RAG has determined that this was not a genuine comment from Judi Curry, that a professional hacker has once again hacked one of the OB Rag / San Diego Free Press writers’ email addresses and masqueraded as them in the comment section of certain posts.
Maybe the Police should carry toy guns to? Point anything, at any age, at anyone, and you get what you deserve. Let’s see a petition against Tamirs parents for “failure to demonstrate adequate supervision”. No tears for Tamir here.
Well, that’s just it, though, the video doesn’t show Tamir Rice point anything at anyone, only a cop driving up and managing an interaction with a 12 year old boy by lethal force, all in a few seconds. I’ve read someone knowledgeable in this area, like a former cop, saying that the assaulting police officer utterly mishandled standard procedure for responding to a report of a potential armed person at large. Not to mention, of course, that the call to the cops or 911 includes a statement from the caller saying it’s probably a toy gun. Is it really so high a standard to expect that a police officer should be much better trained, or even use his training, to handle this type of situation, is it really permissible that a seconds long interaction between a completely innocent 12 year old boy (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and a professional police officer could result in instantaneous tactical judgement of death?
I mean, the kid was playing by himself with a toy gun in a public park, with hardly anyone else around, even, it seems. “Inadequate supervision”? As a former boy, myself, I can tell you almost all boys run around outside with toy guns, whether their parents like it or not.
Hmm, well, on second thought, I take it back. I just watched the video that the jury saw, with someone talking through the sequence of events, and it does kind of look like the cops driving up would’ve seen someone walking around with a realistic looking gun, and then sort of looking like he does handle the gun when the cops show up. So, yeah. Still, in 1 or 2 seconds of showing up on the boy. That it was only a kid with a toy gun, though, is pretty condemning of the cops’ handling. Shouldn’t they have been able to manage an interaction with more certainty. The fact that a kid with a toy gun got shot in 2 seconds is pretty damning of the cops. I mean, a kid could’ve easily reacted right away just to show the cop he only had a toy. No matter how you slice it, inadequate of the cops that they didn’t have a correct way to make the right determination.
But, I dunno, I’m no expert, and haven’t followed the case closely. (…still, isn’t this like in the movies, when a cop on a tactical training ground loses points for shooting the innocent bystander dummies, like a kid, even with a toy gun; or, do we really believe, did the video show, a 12 year old kid making an aggressive move, like a quick draw, that could be reasonably interpreted as a 20yo trying to shoot a cop? It strains belief or credibility that a kid would have made such a move that could be mistaken for the real vicious thing.)
And sweet little Tamir’s gun had the orange safety tip removed that indicates it is a toy gun.
The penalty for which is death.
I mean, dang, I watch that vid, and I can just as easily interpret as a kid really surprised or scared by the cops, just trying show he only had a fake (even the video shows him trying to show anything, that is). Clearly the cops were already drawn. Those cops jumped their own guns, ready to fire on what the scene seemed to them as they drove up. Sounds like really sloppy procedure, right? At least a procedure that has a high likelihood of shooting kids with fake guns.
But not on the guy’s head who shot up the Planned Parenthood in Colorado, what, murdering 3, wounding 9, something like that. There, the cops managed to way less than lethally interact with someone very guilty with real guns. Luck of the draw, I guess, but for the cops, I expect proper procedure. I dunno, though, maybe that guy used orange safety tips?
OB RAG has determined that this was not a genuine comment from Judi Curry, that a professional hacker has once again hacked one of the OB Rag / San Diego Free Press writers’ email addresses and masqueraded as them in the comment section of certain posts.
I retract this statement. Frank, should delete it.
According to the Washington Post:
979 people shot dead by police this year.
37 were black and unarmed
At least 82 people have been shot and killed by police across the United States within the past 30 days
We have bigger things to worry about than grammar you dipshits…
The Guardian UK has also been tracking this issue.
Frank, thank you for deleting my comment.
The abrasive comment above was not made by Judi, but I still retract the comment that wasn’t deleted.
Right on dr.9
My ex, who is 6’5″, was 6′ tall at 12 and shaved every other day. (according to his mom) He actually had to carry his birth certificate around in case he was questioned, and this was in the 50’s. The police gave Tamir less than 2 seconds to either respond to their commands (if indeed any were even given), or show that his ‘gun’ was a toy. I didn’t even think about Ohio being an Open Carry State, when Tamir was murdered by the police. This puts a whole new spin on the defense by the murderers, that they thought he was an adult. My son was almost 6 feet tall at that age. Open carry/adult? where was the crime requiring lethal force? in under 2 seconds?