Blog #2 - Outrage in Cleveland Over Tamir Rice

After 15 months have passed since the tragic death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, the city of Cleveland has noticed a palpable tension in the air. News about the “accidental” shooting has been spreading like wildfire since the incident. The latest news was released today, February 11th, about the city of Cleveland charging Tamir’s mother for the $500 ambulance ride that took him to the hospital on the day of the shooting. This is not the first insensitive jab at the Rice parents. The city of Cleveland tried to accuse Tamir Rice of his own death in a 41-page long suit that claimed Rice “failed to exercise due care to avoid injury.” Court trials in December of 2015 refused to indict the two officers that fired the shots at the young boy. Unfortunately, it seems that this encumbrance will be floating over Samaria Rice and Leonard Warner’s heads for months to come.

I think this event is a perfect example of the recent uproar of senseless killings of innocent people all over the country. It seems America has almost become numb to the news of deaths by police over the past year or so. Claims have been made that police are abusing their power and letting racism take over the good will of their officers. Cases like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and now Tamir Rice have fueled the flame of anger in the hearts of Americans. Personally, I think that we all have trouble trusting authority. These incidents have only given more reason to believe my theory. My head and heart are torn, however, on how to feel about the whole situation. Although there is no doubt in my mind that these deaths were inflicted by racism, I do have doubts on how to make sense of the new nationwide hatred of police. All of the sudden, people have decided to make police officers everywhere the bad guy. This has made protests like “Black Lives Matter,” come about. Repercussions from these protests have lead to violent acts against police officers. Saying that these events are upsetting is an understatement, but I don’t believe reciprocating this aggressive attitude is the solution.

This article relates to class because it is acceptable in American culture to protest. Asserting one’s rights is typically something only Americans do. This is also an example of public opinion vs. public policy. The public opinion is that the police officers should be held accountable for Tamir Rice's death, but public policy is that the court has made the decision not to indict the policemen.