In January of 2012, Jaimie Gonzalez, who was 15 years old at the time, was shot to death at Cummings Middle School by police officers. His parents are suing the city of Brownsville, Texas and five of its officers in Federal Court. The Gonzalezes claim that at the time that Jaimie was shot, he was standing alone and did not pose a threat to anyone else.
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The police were originally called to Cummings Middle School by the assistant principal. It appears that Jaimie, who was an eighth-grader and a drum major in the school band, walked into a classroom and slugged another boy in the face. He then pulled out a weapon, which prompted the school to go on lockdown.
The weapon was later identified to be a pellet gun.
The lawsuits brings up discrepancies in reports of what actually happened that day and I think it's important the contradictions be addressed. I don't know what happened that day. It is reported that Jaimie was shot three times and one of those times was in the back of the head. I don't know if the police used excessive force, that will be determined by the court.
What bothers me tremendously is that we live in an age where a student like Jaimie Gonzalez cannot really be given the benefit of the doubt. I certainly don't envy the police officers who responded to that call. Jaimie may have been holding a pellet gun and posing no threat, but how were the police supposed to determine that?
I mean no disrespect to Jaimie's parents and I am truly sorry for their loss. If the police did use excessive force, they should absolutely be held accountable.
I miss the days when we didn't fear shootings at school, when we assumed that a kid carrying a gun was carrying a toy gun or pellet gun. We don't live in those days anymore.
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