National
Father of Boy, 12, Gunned Down by Police Questions Cops
Tamir E. Rice died at MetroHealth Medical Center early Sunday morning after a Cleveland police officer shot him outside the Cudell Recreation Center. (Family photo)
Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY
CLEVELAND (USA Today)—The father of a 12-year-old boy fatally shot by police after wielding a replica gun questioned Sunday why police did not use a stun gun to subdue him.
Tamir Rice was shot in the torso in the playground area of a recreation center in Cleveland on Saturday afternoon. He died in a hospital Sunday morning.
His father, Gregory Henderson, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Why not taze him? You shot him twice, not once, and at the end of the day you all don’t shoot for the legs, you shoot for the upper body.”
Henderson told reporters over the weekend that his son was a “respectful” young man who minded his elders.
He said that he couldn’t comprehend that his son would not follow police orders, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
“Who would’ve thought he would go so soon?” Henderson told WKYC.
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