PROCEDURAL AND LEGAL
THE TAMIR RICE CASE
Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old Cleveland, Ohio, youth was playing with a toy gun in a public park. When a man called 911 to report this, he stated that the gun was likely fake and the individual was a juvenile:However, the caller's belief the gun was likely fake and that the person in question was a juvenile was never conveyed by the dispatcher to units in the area:
When the police cruiser with officers Frank Garmback (driving) and Timothy Loehmann pulled up, Officer Loehmann fatally shot Tamir Rice in less than two seconds.
© The David Pakman Show
** Note: This episode was released just five days after the video was released - Public outrage has increased
Shouting "Put your hands up!" just once would take about one-and-a-half to two seconds. From where were the commands given, up the block before pulling up to the gazebo?
Earlier in the surveillance video, not shown above, it is visible that Rice is talking on a cell phone. Why is it impossible that it was his cell phone he was reaching for? Why is it impossible that he is putting the gun in his back pocket to hide it from the officers, thinking he would get into trouble? Perhaps more importantly, why is it impossible that, if he was reaching for the air gun, that he was doing so to show the officers that the gun was fake?
It is a well-known fact that police officers, when faced with a dangerous situation, sometimes have mere seconds to choose an action. What thought was put into this?
Before I get into police procedure, two questions related to Tamir Rice need to be answered as well. First, how did the youth get the idea that taking an air gun out in public was acceptable. No, he did not deserve to die -- absolutely not! -- but he had to have the idea that doing so was okay. That should have not been the case. Second, why was the orange ring that was on the tip of the gun removed? Maybe it makes the gun look cool without it, but the ring is on there for a reason ... to show it is fake. Again, this is a should-not-have-happened situation, one that needed to be clarified beforehand. To repeat, Rice did not deserve to die, but if the above questions had been answered differently, there is a chance Officer Loehmann's response may have been different.and Rice would still be alive. It's a question of being responsible.
With regard to the police, too many questions arise. The dispatcher should have stated the 911 caller's belief that the gun was fake and that the person was a juvenile. Was that careless or intentional? We might never know, but they were important pieces of information and they should have been relayed to the officers.
The shooting itself is questionable, but is it standard procedure, at least in Cleveland, to pull up so close to a suspect? Why would keeping some distance, if the officers believed Rice was armed with a real firearm, be improper procedure? At the very least, it would have been for the officers' safety while handling the situation. It is doubtful giving three commands to put his hands up, let alone one command, took place. Again, pulling up with some distance would have allowed for that. This was nothing more than justice, wild west style.
An investigation of both officers Loehmann and Garmback is currently underway. It has come to light, however, that Officer Loehmann gained employment with the Cleveland Police Department when he clearly should not have been able to do so. Two years earlier, in late 2012, Loehmann applied to be an officer in Independence, Ohio, a town approximately twelve miles south of Cleveland. During his brief time there, one of his supervisors described him as "distracted and weepy" and "emotionally immature", also citing Loehmann as having an "inability to manage personal stress", and displaying a "pattern of lack of maturity, indiscretion and not following instructions". His training on the live firing range was no better, as he was described as showing a "dangerous loss of composure" while there. Independence Deputy Chief Jim Polak summarized Loehmann with the following statement:
"I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct these deficiencies."
After all of these negative assessments, which resulted in a "process of separation" being initiated, Loehmann resigned from the Independence Police Department, citing personal reasons.
How then, you may ask, was Timothy Loehmann brought on board with the Cleveland Police Department in March of this year? Just as the dispatcher's failure to be as clear as possible played a part in Tamir Rice's death, the same kind of failure resulted in Loehmann's hiring in Cleveland.
During his background check, Loehmann had been asked about his no longer being with the Independence Police Department, to which he answered he had resigned for personal reasons. When checking with the Independence PD, they confirmed his resigning for personal reason, but failed to reveal to the Cleveland PD any disciplinary actions and unfavorable reviews of Loehmann. Yet another failure to fully inform that contributed to Rice's death.
On December 12, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner ruled Tamir Rice's was a homicide.
It is yet to been seen what will result from the investigation.
Terry
TOMORROW
PROCEDURAL AND LEGAL -- THE ERIC GARNER CASE
PROCEDURAL AND LEGAL -- THE ERIC GARNER CASE
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