Reports: Officer's shooting of boy with pellet gun justified

AP ^ | October 10th, 2015 | MITCH STACY

[Mariner]

OLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A white Cleveland police officer was justified in fatally shooting a black 12-year-old boy holding a pellet gun moments after pulling up beside him, according to two outside reviews conducted at the request of the prosecutor investigating the death.

A retired FBI agent and a Denver prosecutor both found the rookie patrolman who shot Tamir Rice exercised a reasonable use of force because he had reason to perceive the boy - described in a 911 call as man waving and pointing a gun - as a serious threat.

The reports were released Saturday night by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office, which asked for the outside reviews as it presents evidence to a grand jury that will determine whether Timothy Loehmann will be charged in Tamir's death last November.

"We are not reaching any conclusions from these reports," Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said in a statement. "The gathering of evidence continues, and the grand jury will evaluate it all."

[Mariner]

12yr old with a pellet gun.

I guess you had to be there...

[dr_lew]

You wonder why these questions have to come up.

[JennysCool]

Black rap culture has taught the kids that waving around guns and getting crayZ is cool. Sometimes actual people don’t get that you’re trying to be cool. Play stupid games ...

[wardaddy]

My white kids have pellet guns too

Cops before they got so militarized used common sense and discretion

[Eagles6]

Yeah. Orange markings identifying it as a toy removed to make it look real. 12 yr old as big as an adult dressed like a gangster threatening people with what he wants them to think is a real weapon and they do.

Life is hard. It's harder if you're stupid. Shorter too, apparently.

[Mariner]

"Orange markings identifying it as a toy removed to make it look real. 12 yr old as big as an adult dressed like a gangster threatening people with what he wants them to think is a real weapon and they do."

Are those the facts of the case?

[Yogafist]

Yep, a 12 year old with a gun can’t kill anyone. When will these stupid cops learn to differentiate between and pellet gun made to look like a real gun, and a real gun. Stupid cops.

[VanShuyten]

The pellet gun in this case was a replica of a semi-auto pistol, and its orange barrel cap had been removed. It looks quite like the real thing.

[kelly4c]

Thing is...a lot of 12 year old’s are “stupid.” Their frontal lobes aren’t yet developed enough to understand certain things clearly.

[R_Kangel]

[Mariner]

They should release the make/model of the pellet gun...along with a picture of it.

They also say the deceased "reached for his waistband".

Does the video show him touching the "weapon"?

[Eagles6]

Yes.

[Carthego delenda est]

Why are cops being issued pellet guns now? Budget cuts?

Sarc

[Trailerpark Badass]

No orange tip was removed because it never had one. It was not a toy gun, it was a pellet gun. Cops were told that the boy had a gun. Witnesses from the "rec center" claim they told 911 it was not a real gun, but that info was never given to the responding officers. If the "fake" gun was such an obvious non-threat, why call 911? To get one of your hood punks to behave?

[Eagles6]

True enough.

[Trailerpark Badass]

Yes, the video shows the gun in the kid’s hand.

[dfwgator]

12yr old with a pellet gun.

Didn't he realize he could shoot his eye out.

[Eagles6]

I heard one 911 call. Sounded like a black man. Said it MIGHT not be real. That means it MIGHTbe real.

[JennysCool]

The “kid” apparently wasn’t very kid-looking, and the gun looked real. Sometimes if you’re stupid enough to wave around a gun in public, something bad is going to happen to you. A lesson to his homeboys.

[Eagles6]

Yep. Looks like a 1911.