Following the settlement announcement, the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association released a statement to the media, suggesting that the grieving family use the award to “educate the youth of Cleveland in the dangers associated with the mishandling of both real and facsimile firearms.”
You read that right. Instead of instructing officers to avoid shooting children who play with toys, the police union representatives claim that the burden is on children, to protect themselves from being murdered by fearful and trigger-happy police.
“Something positive must come from this tragic loss,” the statement continued. “That would be educating the youth of the dangers of possessing a real or replica firearm.”
“We look forward to the possibility of working with the Rice family to achieve this common goal,” reads the statement, addressed to the media and not the Rice family. It is not known whether the union reached out to the Rice family.
Timothy Loehmann, the white officer who shot Rice, pulled the trigger less than two seconds after making contact with the black child. He was subsequently fired, but no charges were filed against him.
