Around 7:42pm on Wednesday, September 14, 2016, a group of three people from Columbus, Ohio fled from police and the chase ended in one person shot dead by a police officer. Tyree King, one of the three people, fled from police after being confronted about possibly being involved in an armed robbery that had just occurred. While fleeing, King pulled out a gun from his waistband which prompted the officer to shoot. He was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 8:22pm that same night.
Now here is where the anger and almost definite rioting is going to occur. Tyree King was a thirteen-year-old boy and the gun he pulled was a BB gun fashioned with a laser sight. No one is going to pay attention to the fact that he, along with the other two in the group, matched the descriptions given by a man who reported he was robbed at gunpoint for all the money he had just moments before. When the police saw the group, they stopped and approached them for questioning, but it was then that two of the suspects, including King, ran initiating a chase down an alley. It was when police caught up to them that King pulled the gun from his waistband and was shot dead by one of the responding officers.
Police-involved shootings have risen in number, especially in Ohio, with many recent occurrences gaining national attention. On August 5, 2014, a 22-year-old was shot dead by police outside a Walmart in Beavercreek. He was found holding a BB gun that was just purchased from that store. Then, on November 22 of that same year, a 12-year-old boy was shot dead by an officer in Cleveland for brandishing a toy gun that was missing the bright orange tip that all toy guns have.
Unfortunately, though the mayor of Columbus and other officials called for peace, rioting and chaos are soon to begin. It won't matter that King initiated the shooting by fleeing and then pulling the gun out while being chased. It won't matter that the officer was acting out of self-defense and following the training he had been given when he became a police officer nine years ago. It doesn't matter that the gun could very easily have been real and that an officer could have been the one shot dead in that alley if he wouldn't have reacted to the threat in the manner he did.
All that is going to be seen is that it was a thirteen-year-old boy who was shot multiple times by an officer and that the gun he was carrying was just a BB gun. That's it. The officer is automatically going to be criticized for his actions, a full-fledged investigation is going to take place, and rioting is sure to happen. The entire Columbus police department is going to be criticized, possibly even threatened by rioters, and be under great surveillance. If the mayor sides with the officer, he will be criticized as well and could potentially be forced to step down. Same goes for the police chief. All of this chaos, all of this nonsense, could very well occur because people are going to act based on their emotions and not even give themselves the chance to stop and access what actually happened.
It is sad to see that police are no longer trusted or seen as protectors of the public. Instead, people are calling for no more patrols, less police presence, and even de-arming them. Instead of blaming the police for doing their job, why don't we teach our children to, I don't know, follow the law? How about we teach our kids that when a police officer approaches you that you listen to them, respect them, and do what they ask? What about teaching our kids that robbing others for their money, especially with a weapon, is an illegal act and that it will result in jail time? Of course, that would be the easy thing to do and no one would be to blame but yourself if your children acted out. We don't want that. We want to riot, blame everyone but yourself, and let kids run rampant on the streets and terrorize all those who walk there.
Wake up, America. This is what is destroying our once great nation. A police officer was once treated with respect and honor for risking their life every single day to keep all of us safe. They still deserve that same respect and honor today, if not more with the rising number of crime and increasing severity of the crimes. Go ahead and think what you want about them, but just remember it's the police that will always be the first to respond when there's trouble and they will always help you no matter your views and opinions about them.
So, to the Columbus Police Department and all police departments across the nation, thank you for risking your lives everyday for the protection of the public you vowed to serve.
