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Cleveland police are investigating after an officer fired two shots, killing 12-year-old Tamir E. Rice, who police said pulled a gun from his waistband after officers told him to keep his hands in the air. The gun was later determined to be a BB gun with the orange safety cap removed.
(Cory Shaffer, Northeast Ohio Media Group)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State Rep. Alicia Reece announced Sunday that she will introduce legislation that would place restrictions on BB guns, air rifles and airsoft guns following the shooting deaths of a 12-year-old Cleveland boy and a 22-year-old Beavercreek man.
Tamir E. Rice died early Sunday after a Cleveland officer shot him in the stomach about 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Cudell Recreation Center. Tamir was holding a BB gun that had its orange safety cap removed when the officer shot him, according to police.
Rice's death happened a little more than three months after Beavercreek police fatally shot 22-year-old John Crawford III while he was holding an air rifle at a Walmart.
Reece, a Democrat from Cincinnati and the president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, announced Sunday that she will introduce legislation requiring all BB guns, air rifles and airsoft guns sold in Ohio to be brightly colored or have prominent fluorescent strips.
"The shooting of John Crawford III devastated many people in our community and left us looking for answers," Reece said in a news release. "This bill is but one small step in addressing this tragedy and helping to prevent future deadly confrontations with someone who clearly presents little to no immediate threat or danger. With Saturday's deadly shooting of a 12-year-old in Cleveland, it is becoming crystal clear that we need this law in Ohio."
In September, a Greene County grand jury opted not to issue any indictments in the Aug. 5 shooting death of Crawford. However, federal officials subsequently said they would investigate the incident.
Reece began working on legislation with Crawford's father, John Crawford Jr., after the grand jury opted not to indict, she said in a phone interview Sunday. Reece plans to introduce legislation sometime in the next few weeks, but will reintroduce it when the 131st General Assembly convenes in January, she said.
"We thought this was so important because citizens have been calling and telling us that something needs to be done," Reece said. "The reality is that these tragedies cannot continue to happen."
Rep. Rick Perales, a Republican from Beavercreek, said following that shooting that he wanted to explore ideas that help prevent similar tragedies. Perales did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
While other states have passed laws regulating the sale of imitation or toy guns, there are no laws in Ohio that place restrictions on them, according to the Dayton Daily News. Federal law requires that toy or imitation firearms be sold with orange tips inserted in the barrels, but those tips can be removed or painted.
While legislation could benefit police, there are issues that need to be addressed, said Jeffrey Follmer, the president of Cleveland's police union.
While a new law could make it easier to recognize imitation firearms, it could also result in criminals painting real guns to make them look less dangerous, Follmer said. Officers would follow the same protocol if a suspect pointed a gun at them, regardless of whether that gun was brightly colored or not, he said.
"Our guys would still need to take the gun seriously until somebody puts it down," Follmer said.
Lawmakers would work to address issues such as the one Follmer raised, Reece said.
"There's always going to be things that need to be addressed," she said. "But what we do know is that we've seen two shootings that story with a toy gun and ended with a tragedy."
Rep. Bill Patmon, a Democrat from Cleveland, said he believes lawmakers should pass legislation that requires imitation or toy guns to be more distinguishable from real guns.
"Too many of these confrontations end in death," Patmon said. "Too many."
Patmon believes police officers should receive additional training on how to distinguish a real gun from an imitation or toy gun, and that officials should make an effort to educate the community about handling imitation or toy guns.
He acknowledged that there could be pushback against putting regulations on imitation or toy guns, especially by the businesses that manufacture them.
"The more it looks like a real gun, the more people will buy it," Patmon said. "The more it looks like a toy, fewer people will buy it.
"But these are supposed to be toys. I don't know how you push back against" regulations.
Rep. Mike Foley, a Democrat from Cleveland, said he supports Reece's decision to introduce legislation.
"[Guns] that aren't real should be made to look like they're not real to the greatest extent possible," Foley said. However, he is pessimistic about the chances of a new law being passed, saying lawmakers have done little to regulate firearms of any kind.
Other states have passed legislation on imitation or toy guns. In September, California passed a law requiring that all replica or toy guns be brightly colored.
Reece said her bill is modeled after the California bill.
That law was a response to the Oct. 22, 2013 shooting death of 13-year-old Andy Lopez. The Santa Rosa boy was shot and killed by a Sonoma County Sheriff's deputy who believed the boy's toy gun was an assault rifle. The toy gun's orange tip had been removed.
Arkansas law prohibits "imitation firearms" or toy guns, which include air guns, replica nonguns and water pistols. However, that law does not prohibit replicas of antique firearms, BB guns, air guns, paintball guns, any device that has an orange tip inserted in the barrel or any device that is brightly colored, transparent or translucent.
Local governments have also addressed the issue. Earlier this year the city council in Atlantic City, N.J. banned the sale of realistic toy guns; the ban does not extend to non-firing antiques, film props or brightly-colored toy guns.
Ohio lawmakers could support legislation in the wake of the shooting deaths of Rice and Crawford, Patmon said.
"I suspect there will be a push to make sure that nobody can mistake a toy for a real gun," he said.