Second fatal shooting in Ohio this year prompts lawmaker's draft bill

Police in Cleveland, Ohio, shot and killed a 12-year-old African American boy waving what turned out to be a toy gun at a playground, officials said on Sunday.

Officers were called to the scene on Saturday after reports that the boy was pointing a gun at people. They fired twice, hitting him at least once in the stomach.

The boy, identified by the county medical examiner's office as Tamir Rice, died early on Sunday, local newspaper The Plain Dealer reported.

One of the police officers was in his first year with the force, the newspaper said.

Audio released of a 911 call made to police records the caller saying the gun was "probably fake".

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, as is standard in such cases, Cleveland police said in a statement.

"Upon arrival at the scene, officers located the suspect and advised him to raise his hands," the statement said.

"The suspect did not comply with the officers' orders and reached to his waistband for the gun. Shots were fired and the suspect was struck in the torso."

The statement added, "Further information reveals that the weapon which the 12-year-old suspect was in possession of is an 'airsoft'-type replica gun resembling a semi-automatic pistol, with the orange safety indicator removed."

Lawmaker's call

Reports said surveillance footage from the playground is being used in the probe.

Ohio was the scene of another fatal shooting in August, when police responding to a 911 call shot and killed 22-year-old African-American John Crawford in a Walmart store while he was carrying a toy gun sold there.

In response to Saturday's shooting and the one that killed Crawford in August, state lawmaker Alicia Reese announced on Sunday she will introduce a bill to require all toy guns to be brightly colored or have prominent fluorescent stripes.

"The shooting of John Crawford devastated many people in our community and left us looking for answers," Reece said.

"This bill is but one small step in addressing this tragedy and helping to prevent future deadly confrontations with someone who clearly presents little to no immediate threat or danger.

"With Saturday's deadly shooting of a 12-year-old in Cleveland, it is becoming crystal clear that we need this law in Ohio," she added.

The latest shooting in Ohio comes amid high racial tensions in the United States, with a grand jury set to announce whether a white policeman will be indicted in connection with the fatal shooting in August of unarmed African American teenager Michael Brown in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson in Missouri.

Brown's shooting led to weeks of violence in Ferguson, which is predominately African-American but has an overwhelmingly white police department and town government.

The death prompted a nationwide discussion about race, and led to a Department of Justice investigation into the Ferguson police department.

AFP - AP

(China Daily 11/25/2014 page11)