St. Louis County police chief apologizes for Tamir Rice Facebook post

Tamir Rice Attorney Timothy J. Kucharski via CBS affiliate WOIO

ST. LOUIS -- The chief of the St. Louis County Police Department apologized Thursday for a post on a precinct's Facebook page that referenced the police shooting death of a 12-year-old Cleveland boy who was carrying a pellet gun.

The post, titled "Kids Will Be Kids?" was published Thursday morning on the City of Fenton's Facebook page and removed hours later. It did not mention Tamir Rice by name, but implied that the boy's actions played a role in his death.

In part, the post urged to talk with their children about the Nov. 22 shooting and inspect any pellet guns they may own to make sure an orange tip was in place.

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"Your children should have rules for 'toy' guns that mirror the rules of a real weapon," the post read.

"Warn them that these 'toys' do look like real guns and could result in the police getting called on them. The police may get called to respond to 'a child with a gun,' 'maybe a toy gun,' it is important to know how officers are trained to respond," the message said, adding advice for children to follow if they are confronted by police.

Reaction on social media was swift, with people calling the post "insanity" and "tone deaf and dangerous."

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St. Louis County police chief apologizes for Tamir Rice Facebook post