Nina Turner: Killing of 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Highlights Value Gap Between Black & White Lives
While covering the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Democracy Now! visited Cudell Park, where Tamir Rice was gunned down by two officers in November of 2014 while he was playing with a toy pellet gun. A 911 caller reported seeing Rice with a weapon, but noted it was “probably fake.” That information was not relayed to the responding officers, who shot him within two seconds of arriving at the scene. A grand jury failed to bring charges against either of the officers. In April, Cleveland officials agreed to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of Tamir Rice. We speak with Nina Turner, who is a former state senator and former city councilmember whose son is a police officer and husband is a retired police officer.
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Oh LieperDeston that was a very nice post. Two of my favorite women in the national spotlight. My partner is from Cleveland and we’re big fans of Dennis Kucinich and now Nina Turner. While I’m not much of a fan of John Kasick I appreciate his midwestern humanism that shows in his reaching across the aisle toward the AA community. Making Nina co-chair of the task force is a beautiful gesture of bipartisianship and evidence of what I think could be a genuine ability to care about his fellow Ohioans. His willingness to work with her, and his position as the most left leaning of the Repiublican candidates this year make me dream of a Kasick/Turner ticket. Goodness. That turned into a weird thought.
I didn’t know that Nina was part of a police family either but I always appreciate her truly unique perspective. I think people can really learn from her and maybe even from Ohio as a whole on how to come together. Nina tells it like she see’s it in ways that are approachable to every predisposed or budding racist out there. And is fearless in the delivery. I hope to have an opportunity to vote for her sometime in the future!
All these murders… and it is what they are… I mean, a twelve year old??? He was just a kid.
I’m glad Nina advocates for them, and for peace.
Two of my cousins have sons who are African American. I worry about them.