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WELCOME TO CLEVELAND: WE’LL SHOOT YR KIDS AND BILL YOU FOR IT
Remember when the Cleveland grand jury decided that a police officer did the right thing by gunning down 12-year-old unarmed Tamir Rice after giving him one whole second to surrender? Then when the Rice family filed a wrongful death suit, the city govt responded that the shooting was Tamir’s fault for behaving in a way that got him lawfully shot and killed?
The city followed up on that this week by sending Rice’s family a bill for $500 to cover "ambulance advance life support" and other medical expenses, including mileage, related to Rice's ride to the hospital the day he was shot.
So to summarize:
“Hi Mr and Mrs Rice, our cops shot yr boy dead. We’ve decided they did nothing wrong in doing so, and in fact the whole thing was yr boy’s fault. That’ll be $500, please. When can we expect payment?”
The good news – such as it is – is that the mayor has apologized and said payment won’t be necessary. He also said the city was just following procedure, and that sending it was a bureaucratic goof. The fact that the bill went seriously viral may or may not be a factor in his decision.
The Rice family aren't having it. I probably wouldn’t, either, in their position.
Insult to injury,
This is dF
The city followed up on that this week by sending Rice’s family a bill for $500 to cover "ambulance advance life support" and other medical expenses, including mileage, related to Rice's ride to the hospital the day he was shot.
So to summarize:
“Hi Mr and Mrs Rice, our cops shot yr boy dead. We’ve decided they did nothing wrong in doing so, and in fact the whole thing was yr boy’s fault. That’ll be $500, please. When can we expect payment?”
The good news – such as it is – is that the mayor has apologized and said payment won’t be necessary. He also said the city was just following procedure, and that sending it was a bureaucratic goof. The fact that the bill went seriously viral may or may not be a factor in his decision.
The Rice family aren't having it. I probably wouldn’t, either, in their position.
Insult to injury,
This is dF