Civil Rights Activists Target Cleveland Following Tamir Rice Decision
Civil rights activists from around the country are expected to soon converge in the city of Cleveland to stage concerted protests to the recent decision not to charge police officers in the killing of Tamir Rice.
Yahoo News reports local NAACP officials are inviting "like-minded people" to town to take part in upcoming demonstrations aimed at refocusing attention on the 12-year-old boy's killing.
Rice was shot and killed by police in 2014 while holding a toy revolver outside a recreation center near his home. Police were summoned to the area by reports of a man with a gun and opened fire on the defenseless youth within seconds of arriving.
Earlier this year week, Cleveland authorities announced that a grand jury had decided against criminally charging the officers involved, after State's Attorney Timothy McGinty recommended that no charges be filed.
A group of activist groups -- led by the NAACP's Cleveland Branch, the Cleveland Renaissance Movement, Black People in Progress and Nation of Islam -- have now come together to call for a list of demands that include McGinty's removal from office and the release of transcripts from all the grand jury proceedings.
"Not only is this a black thing or a Democratic thing, but you have conservatives and independents who are involved," Cleveland Renaissance Movement founder Basheer Jones said, adding that protesters are from all ethnic, political and religious groups. "You have blacks, whites, Muslims, Christians, Jews. You have so many people involved saying, 'Hey, this is a problem.'"
Organizers also accused McGinty of manipulating the grand jury process to get the outcome he always wanted.
"You had a prosecutor who was actually engaged well beyond the process," Cleveland branch NAACP president Michael Nelson said. "Instead of presenting the evidence [and] allowing the grand jury to make a decision, he makes a recommendation for no indictment. How did he get to that?"
Even with that, Nelson contended, if Rice had been an adult, he would have been further protected by the state's open carry laws.
With that in mind, some Black Lives Matter protesters are also calling on Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James to boycott NBA games in response to the decision.
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