Boy Killed by Cop Billed for Ambulance Ride - Cleveland seeks $500 from estate of Tamir Rice

[Nithavela]

In a move that the family's lawyer says "adds insult to homicide," Cleveland has billed a 12-year-old boy for the ambulance he was placed in after being fatally shot by a city police officer. The $500 claim filed against the estate of Tamir Rice on Wednesday includes $450 for "ambulance advance life support" and $10 for mileage, reports Cleveland.com. Rice, who was seen playing with a replica gun in a city park, was shot seconds after police arrived at the scene on Nov. 22, 2014. In December, a grand jury decided not to indict rookie cop Timothy Loehmann, who fired the fatal shot, or his partner. After the shooting, police handcuffed Rice's sister but made no attempt to offer first aid to the wounded boy.

"The callousness, insensitivity, and poor judgment required for the city to send a bill—its own police officers having slain 12-year-old Tamir—is breathtaking," attorney Subodh Chandra said in an emailed statement. "This adds insult to homicide." The chief of the Cleveland police union has supported the officers, but he seems as disgusted as anybody by the city's legal action. "Subodh Chandra and I have never agreed on anything until now," Steve Loomis tells Fox 8 Cleveland. "It is unconscionable that the City of Cleveland would send that bill to the Rice family. Truly disappointing but unfortunately not surprising." The city says it doesn't comment on ongoing litigation.

http://www.newser.com/story/220410/boy-killed-by-cop-billed-for-ambulance-ride.html

 

[Sistrin]

If Rice had not altered the toy gun to look real and been out pointing it at people, the police would not have been called. Thus no shooting and no need for an ambulance.

 

[TheQuietRiot]

If Rice had not altered the toy gun to look real and been out pointing it at people, the police would not have been called. Thus no shooting and no need for an ambulance.

He was only a kid.

 

[ToddNotTodd]

If Rice had not altered the toy gun to look real and been out pointing it at people, the police would not have been called. Thus no shooting and no need for an ambulance.

So you're saying that when the police are called there's going to be a shooting...

Sounds about right.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

If Rice had not altered the toy gun to look real and been out pointing it at people, the police would not have been called. Thus no shooting and no need for an ambulance.

If our country wasn't such crap in so many areas, none of this would or could have happened.

For example, if we had a better healthcare system, a 12 year old wouldn't be billed after his death for an ambulance ride he wouldn't have needed if we didn't have such trigger happy cops.

 

[Murby]

The kid was not JUST playing with the gun, he was pointing it at strangers while attempting to intimidate them. It would not have been long before aged a few years and found a real gun after realizing how easy it is to scare people.

I blame the parents for being idiots. Ya.. give your child a simulated weapon and send them to a public park... Morons.

If the parents tried to sue the police for their actions, then I say by all means, send them a bill for the kid.. But if they didn't try to sue or seek monetary damage then the city shouldn't be billing them.

 

[Murby]

if we didn't have such trigger happy cops.

There are cases where comments like that are certainly warranted.. but this isn't one of them.

 

[iluvatar5150]

If Rice had not altered the toy gun to look real and been out pointing it at people, the police would not have been called. Thus no shooting and no need for an ambulance.

If the police had acted smartly and responsibly and professionally, they could've de-escalated the situation instead of immediately using deadly force. Your ROE and other policies when you were in the service wouldn't have permitted that behavior, would they?

There are cases where comments like that are certainly warranted.. but this isn't one of them.

Trigger happy is exactly what that cop was.

 

[Belk]

The kid was not JUST playing with the gun, he was pointing it at strangers while attempting to intimidate them. It would not have been long before aged a few years and found a real gun after realizing how easy it is to scare people.

I blame the parents for being idiots. Ya.. give your child a simulated weapon and send them to a public park... Morons.

If the parents tried to sue the police for their actions, then I say by all means, send them a bill for the kid.. But if they didn't try to sue or seek monetary damage then the city shouldn't be billing them.

Citation?

 

[Blondepudding]

Citation?

 

[Blondepudding]

Conversely if Tamir Rice hadn't altered the toy gun so that it looked like the real thing he wouldn't have needed an ambulance .

 

[Soma Seer]

Is the following photo of Tamir pointing the (realistic-looking) gun directly at someone, who's image is obscured? If so, yowzers...

 

[Belk]

Conversely if Tamir Rice hadn't altered the toy gun so that it looked like the real thing he wouldn't have needed an ambulance .

Since the initial caller mentioned he thought it was a toy and the pistol was never in plain view of the officers I fail to see how it would of made a material difference.

 

[ToddNotTodd]

Conversely if Tamir Rice hadn't altered the toy gun so that it looked like the real thing he wouldn't have needed an ambulance .

When I was a kid, toy guns looked like real guns. No orange tip. We carried them around pointing them at everyone and everything. And none of us were shot by the cops. In fact, I recall an incident where a cop we were near put his hands up in a "don't shoot" pose.

Why didn't the cops shoot us seconds after they saw us, like cops did to Tamir Rice? Because they weren't paranoid thugs. And we were white.

 

[Belk]

OK. How is that showing him attempting to intimidate people? I fail to see how this is substantive since every report I have read was that he was simply playing with the pistol and not attempting to scare people.

 

[Murby]

Look folks.. This isn't "quick draw mcgraw" wild west stuff.. This was a kid with a gun.. This incident was all over the news here because it happened just a few hours south.
Cops got a report of a person intimidating people by pointing a gun at them in a park. They pulled up and as soon as they did, the kid reached for the gun.. so they shot him.

Its funny how people in this thread are so quick to blame cops and don't seem to mention any responsibility of the parents. Nope.. nada.. its all the cops fault.

Tell ya what.. you go become a cop and run around dealing with crazy wacked out drug addicts who are armed and dangerous and don't give a rats behind about thinking twice before they shoot you.. Deal with that every single day and you'll begin to realize why a cop would rather put you in the ground then give you a chance to put him in the ground.

This kid was justifiably shot.. I'm not even a cop and I would have shot him had he pointed that thing at me or reached for it as he did.

But hey.. lets blame this on the cops rather than the parents.. because, you know.. the cops should have been able to scan this kid up and down with their built-in x-ray vision and should have determined that they were in no danger.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

Conversely if Tamir Rice hadn't altered the toy gun so that it looked like the real thing he wouldn't have needed an ambulance .

We could go further down the rabbit hole. If guns weren't made out to be these awesome things everyone should aspire to someday use against evil-doers and treated them as the instruments of death they are designed to be... maybe kids wouldn't want to play with them and all of this could have been avoided...

Maybe.

 

[Murby]

If guns weren't made out to be these awesome things everyone should aspire to someday use against evil-doers and treated them as the instruments of death they are designed to be... maybe kids wouldn't want to play with them and all of this could have been avoided...

HUH? awesome things? aspire to use against evil-doers? instruments of death?
Before I debunk and beat your comments into the dirt, I'm going to ask that you clarify the meaning of your statement so that I don't jump to an incorrect conclusion of what you are saying.

 

[Sistrin]

If the police had acted smartly and responsibly and professionally, they could've de-escalated the situation instead of immediately using deadly force. Your ROE and other policies when you were in the service wouldn't have permitted that behavior, would they?

In most cases no. I wonder what the standard is for shoot-don't shoot training at police academies. Perhaps it needs to be raised.

 

[Nithavela]

In most cases no. I wonder what the standard is for shoot-don't shoot training at police academies. Perhaps it needs to be raised.

Another poster mentioned that the focus of police training, as experienced by her own son, is on lethal force, and less-than-lethal means kind of fall by the wayside.