I am a hard ass. I have been following the Tamir Rice shooting in Cleveland. Based on the facts, I have concluded that at the moment that the Cleveland Police fired on him, Tamir Rice needed killing. The officer’s fear was justified and their response was reasonable.
I now urge the family to sue the hell out of the City of Cleveland and the individual officers for causing the death of Tamir Rice. Yeah I know I sound like a liberal holding two mutually exclusive views simultaneously. However, there are two standards to be considered in this case. One is did the officers violate Tamir Rices’s civil rights under USC Title 42 1983/1984. They did not. The second is did the officers violate an ordinary standard of care, and exhibit gross negligence in the performance of their duties, in the way they responded to the call. From where I stand they would need an extension ladder to climb out of the hole they dug, just to reach gross negligence. I am not an attorney, I have no idea where Ohio law is on tort actions.
What I am advocating is akin to a medical malpractice style suit. A patient goes in for a vasectomy and comes out with a sex change. Yeah they might have started in the same ball park but the results are in no way comparable.
These had to be the two stupidest cops ever to shit between police shoes to respond to this call in the manner that they chose. The only way the passenger officer could have redeemed himself is if he immediately turned and shot the driver officer for putting him in that position. These idiots need to be fired because they are too stupid to be allowed access to anything more lethal than a rubber ball. I have put the cart before the horse and offered my conclusions without demonstrating my work. Okay, let me back up:
The officers were dispatched to a man with a gun call at a city park. The caller indicated the belief that the gun may not be real but that was not relayed to the officers. Doesn’t matter. What does a “reasonable police officer” verses these brain dead clowns know? (1) Approaching a guy with a gun in and of itself is not your happy place. (2) Given distance, a handgun has limited potential for accuracy (3) the more separation between officers the greater the chance that a rational gunman will decline the confrontation. (4) Time equals the ability to gain information. (5) Information is power. (6) Information flows both ways.
Accepting the preceding statements as reasonable, what does a reasonable police officer do? (1) Create distance between the suspected gunman and the officers. (2) Distance creates time to assess, is this a man with a gun or a child? (3) Distance allows officers to gain cover and concealment which lessens the threat level and creates time. (4) Commands by police clarify to everybody involved the intent of the actors. (5) First impressions are either confirmed or denied. (6) If denied a new round of assessment can begin.
I found myself in a similar situation on a Saturday night. I was flagged down and informed that a man was staggering down the street wielding a shotgun at 1:30 am in the morning. The block was a location where we had arrested a man on two consecutive Saturdays for a drunk causing a disturbance. The radio was so busy that I was unable to inform dispatch of the situation. I pulled into the block, still unable to inform dispatch. Yeah I know, but it was the 70’s and my balls were made of brass and clanked when I walked. I popped the 870 out of the rack and started making my way to the house. As I did so, dispatch put out the man with a gun call.
When I tried to “buy the call” my sergeant riding in a two man car, covered my transmission and pulled up in front of the house. As he did so, the suspect stepped out of the shadows, next to the patrol car. He did indeed have a shotgun. Fortunately, it was pointed skyward. I racked my 870. For those who are uninitiated there is no louder more distinctive sound that can occur in the nighttime than the working of the action of a Remington 870 shotgun. Once heard, that distinctive noise, can never be anything but an 870. I yelled at him to drop the gun, then to drop the fucking gun and he did not comply. Had I been concerned for my safety I would have fired at that point, since it was my Sergeant I gave him a little extra time. My Sergeant yelled at him to put the gun down and he did so.
This guy meant no harm to anybody. He had purchased a piece of shit J.C. Higgens single shot shotgun in a bar for $35 dollars and wanted to show it off to his cousins inside the house. He didn’t drop it because he didn’t want to mess up his new gun. The sergeant later said that the only thing that kept him from coming out the car shooting was the knowledge that I was there, as evidenced by my distinctive accent and voice and that I had the guy covered.
I have taught “officer survival” to thousands of police officers. One of the questions I put to officers who have shot at suspects is; “Take an inventory between those times when you have fired at suspects and those times when you could have fired at suspects and didn’t. What was different? You could almost see the light bulb pop on. Most officers who had been previously involved in shootings could recount a dozen instances where they were justified, but did not shoot. The answer was almost always the same, “I ran out of options,” “I had no choice,” “There was nothing else I could do.”
The application of proper tactics, personal discipline and a basic knowledge of policing do not lead to a Tamir Rice confrontation. I would challenge any police officer with a lick of pride or integrity to contact the Cleveland Police Department and tell them that in this instance, their officers have violated a standard of care and trust that is unacceptable to the profession.