The City of Cleveland has filed a creditor’s lien against the estate of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy slain by officer Timothy Loehmann in 2014.
Not much different than how Iran’s authoritarian government charges “bullet fees” to the families of executed citizens.
Cleveland EMS wants $450 for “Advanced Life Support Services” and another $50 for “Mileage” for tending to the dying child after officers shot him, failed to render any form of aid.
In fact, the cops tackled Rice’s sister as she rushed to the aid of her wounded sibling as depicted in a chilling surveillance video.
Rice was legally open-carrying a pellet gun when two Cleveland Police officers arrived, then shot and killed the child within two seconds of stopping.
The officers were not charged.
However, that’s not stopping the city from charging Rice post-mortem for the expense of dealing with his fatal shooting.
Cleveland’s callous attempt at bean-counting is reminiscent of Iran’s “bullet fee” which was most prominently reported during 2009’s Green Revolution.
According to the Wall Street Journal‘s report:
When Mr. Alipour didn’t return home that night, his parents began to worry. All day, they had heard gunshots ringing in the distance. His father, Yousef, first called his fiancé and friends. No one had heard from him.
At the crack of dawn, his father began searching at police stations, then hospitals and then the morgue.
Upon learning of his son’s death, the elder Mr. Alipour was told the family had to pay an equivalent of $3,000 as a “bullet fee”; a fee for the bullet used by security forces, before taking the body back, relatives said.
It’s widely reputed on the internet that China also seeks a bullet fee from those executed at the hands of the state. But it’s impossible to find an authoritative source documenting the practice as Chinese officials typically seek to cloak their executions in secrecy.
One of the Rice family’s attorneys Subodh Chandra said it best, calling Cleveland’s callous disregard for common decency, “Adding insult to homicide.”
Rice’s family has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, which if successful, would likely be from where the city takes its $500.
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