A law enforcement officer's quick decision is once again being put under a microscope. On Monday, Cleveland police said officers fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice as the youth reached for an air pistol in his waist. Chief Calvin Williams said the air pistol was "indistinguishable from a real firearm." An orange tip indicating the gun was not a real firearm had been removed, police said. "Our officers at times are required to make critical decisions in a split second," Williams said at a news conference "Unfortunately, this was one of those times." The incident comes as the nation nervously awaits a grand jury decision on whether to charge the police officer who killed African-American teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August.
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An orange tip indicating the gun was not a real firearm had been removed, police said
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Deputy chief says police have surveillance video of the shooting
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Officer who fired fatal shots "had no clue" Tamir Rice was 12, union official says
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"You didn't give him a chance," an angry resident says of the shooting
Police shootings of African-Americans, particularly young men, have been under rising scrutiny in recent months after @placeholder's shooting following a brief confrontation in Ferguson.