The Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association has announced plans to file a federal lawsuit against toy gun makers. The union is seeking to limit the design of toy guys in lieu of financial damages, WEWS-TV reported Monday. The move comes nearly three years after the fatal police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was said to be playing with a toy gun prior to being killed within seconds of Cleveland Police Officer Timothy Loehmann and others arriving on the scene at Cudell Recreation Center.
"These fake weapons put the community at risk, puts law enforcement at risk, something has to be done," attorney Henry Hilow, pictured above, told WEWS-TV Monday. "The remedy that we'd be looking for is that that gun could not replicate. That that gun would be of such a color, have such a tip." Hilow added that the lawsuit, which he expects will be filed within months, is awaiting additional support from police unions in other major cities.
Steve Loomis, the president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, attempted to tell Rice's family what to do with their $6 million settlement in a statement to Cleveland.com back in 2016.
"We can only hope the Rice family and their attorneys will use a portion of this settlement to help educate the youth of Cleveland in the dangers associated with the mishandling of both real and facsimile firearms," Loomis said at the time. "Something positive must come from this tragic loss." Previously, Loomis referred to 12-year-old Rice as "menacing" in an interview with Politico.
Last month, Loomis opened up to Cleveland.com about the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association decision to publicly endorse Trump in the 2016 presidential election. "For us, it's not just a piece of paper you put out on your literature," Loomis, who was also seen at an Ohio Trump rally in August, said.
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