On Sunday, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by police in Cleveland, Ohio after waving a toy gun in a playground, the Huffington Post reports.
Two police officers, a rookie and a 10-year veteran, responded to a 911 call that a boy was on a swing set and pointing a “probably fake” gun around and scaring everybody. According to Deputy Chief Ed Tomba, one officer fired twice at Rice when he pulled the toy gun out of his waistband after being told to put his hands in the air.
Tragedies like this and the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson are the latest in a trend of police shootings that might’ve been avoided with better police training. We want to know what you think: What changes would you like to see in police training? Take our poll and sound off in the comments about ways your local police force can improve.
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