Here’s one of the main reasons Black people’s tumultuous relationship with police officers is all but assured to continue: Cops don’t seem to learn from previous high-profile incidents.
Nearly a decade after the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, an officer in Akron, Ohio,—the same city where officers of the same police department shot and killed Jayland Walker—shot a 15-year-old Black child who was holding a fake gun, and police bodycam footage shows that the officer fired a shot within a split second of questioning the teen and exiting his vehicle.
According to WKYC, the incident took place on April 1, after a woman in the Goodyear Heights neighborhood called 911 to report a teen, identified as Tavion Koonce-Williams, pointing a gun at homes near the intersection of Tonawanda Avenue and Newton Street. Note that 911 dispatch was not told any shots were fired or that the gun was being pointed at people. Regardless, the officer in question almost appeared to have arrived at the scene with the intent to shoot first and ask questions maybe never.
Source: Tamir Rice All Over Again: Video Shows Akron Cop Quickly Shooting Black Teen Holding Fake Gun
