Was the Shooting of Tamir Rice “Reasonable”?

10/14/2015 News Insights

By Leon Neyfakh & Campaign Zero

Insight: The argument on display in the two reports, which are based in part on video footage of Loehmann and his partner driving up to Rice and, within seconds, shooting him at close range, ought to alarm anyone who believes that police officers should not be allowed to kill whomever they want, whenever they want, as long as they’re under the impression that a suspect is armed. If Loehmann’s use of lethal force against Rice is considered “reasonable,” it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which an officer’s decision to approach an ostensibly armed suspect and shoot him would ever be deemed unreasonable.