The fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Tyre King by a Columbus police officer Wednesday has drawn comparisons to the police killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by a Cleveland police officer in November 2014.
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“That’s unacceptable. We as a community need to come to grips with the fact, with such easy access to guns, whether they’re firearms or replicas, there’s something wrong in this country and it’s bringing its epidemic to our city streets”.
“A 13-year-old is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns”, he added.
It’s always been called into question the propriety of a police department investigating its own officer.
“The only thing similar in nature is the age, race and outcome”, police spokesman Sgt. And one factor about air guns compounds the dangers, she said.
Micheal Bell, founder of the football team, told the Dispatch that King was a hard-working, first-year player with an infectious smile.
As police chased them into an alley, one of the suspects, King, grabbed his BB gun and was shot, read the report. They saw three males east of downtown Columbus who matched the suspect descriptions, and when two ran away, the officers chased them, the Associated Press reported. Two fled on foot, police said, while officers approached King in an alley.
The actions described by police, who say he ran away and pulled out a realistic-looking BB gun, “are out of his normal character”, the attorneys said.
Members of Tyre King’s family console each other during a vigil for 13-year-old Tyre King Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, in Columbus, Ohio.
The officer was identified as Bryan Mason, a nine-year veteran of the force.
More than 150 people, including some of King’s family members, gathered for a prayer vigil on Thursday near where he was shot, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
In keeping with department policy, Mr Mason has been placed on leave while Tyre’s shooting is investigated.
Mason, the officer who police said shot King, had shot and killed someone while on duty before.
Police were responding to reports of an armed robbery. He also said he thought the weapon looked like a particular type of Ruger semi-automatic pistol.
Sirens are heard moments later as police search for the suspects.
“Our officers carry a gun that looks practically identical to this weapon”, she said. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
“The family is obviously distraught by the murder of Tyre”, said attorney Chandra Brown, in a statement. He also said he was aware of witnesses who didn’t agree with the police version of events.
He played football, and was in his school’s young scholars program, an attorney for his family told the AP. He had a slight build and, if anything, was on the small side for his age, the lawyer said.
Authorities said it was unclear if the shooting was caught on surveillance or cellphone video.
And later, “Last night around 8 p.m., my amusing and bright student Tyre was murdered by the police”.
The other person who was with Tyre was interviewed and released pending further investigation, according to the AP.
As recently as yesterday a spokesperson for the People’s Justice Project was telling local reporters the story about a robbery was just an allegation by the police. The officers were cleared of wrongdoing.
A person on the call identified as the victim of the robbery said the alleged holdup was over $10.
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At 5 feet 7 and almost 200 pounds, Tamir was much bigger than an average 12-year-old but was described as a carefree child who sometimes acted younger than his age. He said Tamir was trying to either hand the weapon over to police or show them it wasn’t real, but the patrolmen had no way of knowing that.
