On November 22, 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice went to the park in his local neighborhood. He took out his toy gun and started playing with it. Someone assumed it was a real gun, and called the police. Two police officers, Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback, showed up on the scene. Within two seconds after arriving, witout questioning the witnesses, Loehmann shot two bullets at Tamir Rice. The police car hadn’t even stopped yet. Neither of the officers offered any first aid to Rice right after the shooting. Rice died the next day, on November 23, 2014.
On July 10, 2015, Sandra Bland was driving in Prairie View, Texas. She forgot to turn on her turn signal when changing lanes, and consequently got pulled over by Brian Encinia, a police officer. Dashcam footage showed that Encinia told Bland to take out her cigarette and get out of the car, but she refused. He repeatedly threatens her and she gets out when he points his taser at her and says, “I will light you up!” He immediately throws her to the ground and arrests her. On July 13th, 2015, Bland was found dead, hanging from the top of her cell.
The fact that Tamir Rice was African American made him somehow more threatening to a nearby witness, who felt the need to call the police. The fact that Loehmann shot out of the police car proves that he felt threatened because of the color of Rice’s skin. The fact that the dispatcher miscommunicated Rice’s age and his gun type proves that police forces need better training. The fact that a 12-year-old innocent boy died for no reason and no one is punished just proves that the justice system is biased. The same goes for the Sandra Bland case. She was merely arrested for not turning on a turn signal. Let that sink in for a few minutes.
The scary thing about these two incidents is the outcomes. The jury decided not to convict the police in the Tamir Rice case. Their reasoning: “It was ‘reasonable’ to believe the officer who killed the boy believed Tamir was a threat, and that the toy gun could be seen as a real gun.” The jury for the Sandra Bland case also decided not to indict the officers or employees of Waller County Jail. Their reasoning: “the evidence showed no evidence of murder.” The similarities between these two cases show how flawed the American justice system is. As more and more video surveillance clips are being released and more videos being posted on social media, it is clear that there is systematic racism apparent in the American justice system. Instead of being responsible with the power entrusted to them, police officers are more threatening and abusive. And race does play a factor in these cases.