VIDEO: Boy Brandishing Pistol Replica Killed by Cleveland Officer
Boy Brandishing Pistol Replica Killed by Cleveland Officer
Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said one officer fired twice after the boy pulled the fake weapon — which was lacking the orange safety indicator usually found on the muzzle — from his waistband but had not pointed it at police, .
November 24, 2014
A 12-year-old boy has been shot dead by police in Cleveland after brandishing what turned out to be a replica gun.
Tamir Rice died from his wounds on Sunday, a day after officers responded to an emergency call about someone waving a “probably fake” gun in a playground.
Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said one officer fired twice after the boy pulled the fake weapon — which was lacking the orange safety indicator usually found on the muzzle — from his waistband but had not pointed it at police, Huffington Post reports.
ABC 5 Cleveland reports the officers were not told the age of the suspect or the fact the caller said the gun might be fake.
In dispatch audio recorded between 3:24 p.m. and 3:34 p.m., the dispatcher never told officers that the gun may be fake or that the suspect was a juvenile.
“I’ve got a code 1, if anybody can break at Cudell. In the park by the youth center, there’s supposed to be a male sitting on the swings, pointing a gun at people," said a dispatcher in recordings obtained by newsnet5.com.