Samaria Rice initially wanted the gazebo where her 12-year-old son Tamir was shot to death by Cleveland police in 2014 destroyed. But she changed her mind when she considered the structure’s significance.
Tamir was reported to be playing with a pellet gun when he was killed by 26-year-old Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann under the gazebo at the Cudell Recreation Center on November 22, 2014.
Ozanne Construction Company and Independence Excavating in Cleveland volunteered to deconstruct the gazebo. Then-Arts Bank director of programs and development Amy Schachman oversaw the deconstruction on the ground and the gazebo’s relocation to Chicago.
“I can vision Tamir playing under the gazebo and other children playing under the gazebo,” Samaria said. “I can vision it right at this moment. I always have visions of it, matter of fact.” v
