Just when you thought the “teenage senseless murder” trend?couldn’t possibly be any worse, it continues to grow. This past weekend, a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed ?by a Cleveland police officer??after being seen waving around what he thought was a deadly weapon. 911 was called after a bystander reported that someone was waving around a fake gun and scaring people.
According to a police statement, two Cleveland police officers ?advised the boy to put up his hands, however after the boy reached for his waist band, shots were fired. The boy was struck in the torso and later died from his injuries at MetroHealth Hospital.
For those of you who don’t know, Airsoft guns are toy guns that shoot orange pellets. They’re made with a bright orange tip so people can be aware that they aren’t actual weapons. In this case, though, the police claim the boy had removed the orange tip.
The two police officers were put on administrative leave after the incident, and?Deputy Chief of Field Operations Ed Tomba says that the incident is “very, very tragic;” however, that the officers reacted as they should have, considering that the boy was holding what they believed to be a real and dangerous weapon.
Here’s a 19 Action News report:
As you could hear, people in this video were saying that the boy was black.
Are you suprised?
Police officers are trained to do many things, however (and I do realize I am not one and therefore cannot really?judge the actions of one) I DO believe that they could learn how to tell a real gun from a fake gun by more than a missing orange tip. And moreso be able to tell a dangerous criminal from a 12- year- old boy playing around at a public recreation center.
Though this story is just recently developing, there is a lot of chaos that could rise up from this incident. This just adds kindling to ?the flame of the anticipated violence and protest for the Mike Brown verdict, the string of police violence against the black youth of America, and the outcry for the conservation of public safety.
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