The killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice was
unjust and wrong. That's the starting point for this conversation and of the eleven questions that will follow.
1. Nobody in Tamir's family has received anything like an apology from the Cleveland police department for Tamir's death or for the severe mistreatment of his sister on the scene. Why not?
2. We have heard, from Cleveland police spokespeople, what the accounts of Officers Loehmann and Garmback are, but we have not seen them written down or heard recorded audio files of their perspective. Why not? Do they exist? When will they be released?
3. When and where and to whom did the police officers give their first statements?
4. When the police officers gave their statements, were they aware of the security camera that filmed the entire encounter?
5. Why did the police chief communicate to the public the following day that the "orange tip" was missing from the gun when the police never actually saw the tip one way or the other when they shot and killed Tamir?
6. Why did the officers say they saw Tamir sitting at the table with a small crowd when the video shows he was alone at the table?
7. Why did the officers say they saw Tamir brandish the toy gun when the video clearly shows no such thing?
8. Why did the officers say they gave Tamir three verbal commands to put his hands up, when the video clearly shows no time existed for this to happen since Tamir was shot and killed in less than two seconds of the door of the police car opening?
9. Why did the officers ignore Tamir Rice for over four minutes after the shooting? He was clearly still alive, in pain, and fighting for his life.
10. Why did the Cleveland police department not check the egregious police work history and negative recommendations of Officer Timothy Loehmann?
11. Why did the police dispatch not communicate to the officers that the 911 caller believed Tamir to be a child and that the gun was likely a toy?