On November 22, 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed at Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland, Ohio, by police officer Timothy Loehmann. On December 28, 2015, an Ohio grand jury decided not to indict Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback (the officer on the scene with Loehmann). This decision angered the nation and fueled the national debate over police brutality and the question of whether racism still exists in America.
The year 2015 was one of police shootings. With dozens of cases of police officers shooting African American civilians bombarding the news and social media, it is no surprise that this debate became a major point of controversy. Some see these events as acts of clear racism and power hungry officers, while others see them as self defense. Whatever side you are on, one thing is for certain: people are dying and there needs to be a solution.
The fact of the matter is that innocent people are getting killed by the same people who are supposed to protect them. The volume of these cases proves that this is a widespread problem that America is facing and cannot be pushed under the rug. The argument that these police officers are acting in self defense and therefore cannot be blamed ignores the fact that police officers see a black man or woman and think, “I need to protect myself.” When this racist thought leads to a murder, the officer is clearly to blame and must face the consequences. The only way for people to take this problem seriously is to actually start making officers responsible for their actions and making a statement to the nation that yes, black lives matter, and we will no longer accept people whose actions say differently.
The problem is not only that the officer shot Tamir, it is that the jury did not see that this act was a result of racial profiling, something that was made very clear in the prosecution. The 911 caller that reported Rice said that the gun was probably fake, but when Loehmann arrived at the scene he ignored this warning. A video of the shooting showed that a mere two seconds passed from the officers getting on the scene to Loehmann shooting Rice. Two seconds is not enough time to accurately assess a situation and conclude that you are in enough danger to need to kill someone, which is exactly what Loehmann did. Loehmann relied on his prejudices and assumed that since Tamir seemed intimidating that he must have a real gun and his life was in danger. The fact that the jury did not see this solidifies that a large part of America is in a state of denial about racism.
When juries let these officers get away with the murder of an innocent person, the problem is simply not addressed. It is not enough to say that this was a mistake and we will learn from it in the future.
As Deputy Chief Jim Polak of the Independence, Ohio, police said, “I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct these deficiencies.”
This is an important point that needs to be highlighted. Racism can not be simply “trained” out of someone. Society needs to be aware of the prejudices that exist and work hard to reject them. America is a land of equality and as a nation we must work non-stop to keep that fact true.
