Five years after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer, his mother has teamed with the ACLU to create a safety handbook for young people on how to interact with police.
“Even when you do everything right, things can still go wrong,” ACLU Ohio said on Facebook. The guide is geared toward youth under the age of sixteen.
“For the 5th anniversary of Tamir Rice’s tragic death, his mother Samaria approached our organization to create a safety handbook for youth. Even when you do everything right, things can still go wrong. These tips can help you protect yourself,” the organization wrote on Facebook.
According to CNN, the “Tamir Rice Safety Handbook,” is an 8-page online guide, that “includes sections on what to do if police stop you, ask you questions, want to search you or begin arresting you,” the outlet writes.
“Know that police can lie and ask trick questions,” the colorful handbook says. “If they tell you they already talked to your friend, or that you won’t be arrested if you talk, they may be lying.”
“We hope that it’s a guide that’s accessible to young people, that gives them constructive tools, that keeps Tamir’s memory alive, and that showcases the amazing work of Samaria, all those things,” ACLU Campaigns Manager Melekte Melaka told CNN affiliate WJW.
Samaria Rice introduced the guide last week at an event celebrating her son’s life, held by the Tamir Rice Foundation, which she founded.
“I was thrust into this life,” she said. “It’s not the life that I chose. This is God’s plan.”
In 2016, the city of Cleveland settled a federal lawsuit filed by Rice’s family for $6 million.
Click here for the ACLU’s “Know Your Rights” Guide.
