Criminal charges possible in killing of Cincinnati gorilla

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Criminal charges possible in killing of Cincinnati gorilla

By Ginny McCabe
May 31, 2016

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Police may bring criminal charges over a Cincinnati Zoo incident in which a gorilla was killed to rescue a 4-year-old boy who had fallen into its enclosure, a prosecutor said on Tuesday.

The death of Harambe, a 450-pound (200-kg) gorilla, also prompted the animal rights group Stop Animal Exploitation Now to file a negligence complaint on Tuesday against the zoo with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The group is seeking the maximum penalty of $10,000.

The group said in its complaint letter that the child's ability to get past the barrier was proof the zoo was negligent and should be fined for a "clear and fatal violation of the Animal Welfare Act."

Mounting outrage over Saturday's killing of the Western lowland silverback, an endangered species, sparked criticism of both the zoo and the child's parents. Online petitions at change.org drew more than 500,000 signatures demanding "Justice for Harambe."

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/gorilla-killing-sparks-federal-negligence-complaint-against-cincinnati-151935677.html?nhp=1

[CincyDem]

1. It saddens me greatly that Harambe has died and I need to vent (to nobody in particular).

It saddens me even more the internet mob outrage that has been directed at the parents involved.

It saddens me that while watching Harambe drag a 3-year old around by the ankles, it took 9:58 minutes longer to decide his fate than that of Tamir Rice. While there was much focus on the policeman who spent less than 3 seconds deciding to end Tamir's life - there was no internet mob outrage toward the police dispatcher who failed to share the 911 caller's comments that Tamir's guy "looked like a toy". And that was no internet mob outrage about that 911 caller who by his own admission through it was a toy and posed no hazard. If so, why the call and why no internet mob outrage.

It saddens me that it took 9 minutes more to decide Harambe's fate than that of John Crawford. Again, there was attention on the police shooter but where was the internet mob outrage about the 911 caller who very clearly miscommunicated John Crawford's actions to the 911 operator. Why no outrage. Why don't we know his name, where he works, the name and criminal history of his live-in girlfriend? Why is he less at fault in John Crawford's death than the parents in this case given that both their erroneous actions were the first domino in a line that resulted in death.

I'm know there are others. Hell, there are so many others that we can't even list all their names. How many of them when down in less time than Harambe?

I get that we want to see justice and we want someone to blame. And I get that there's something regal about a silverback gorilla. I get that he was "important to the species". What I don't get is why is he more important than Tamir Rice or John Crawford and why are we willing to accept the errors (purposeful or accidental) surrounding their death as kismet but here, we have to find "justice for Harambe".

I hope it's not that we're so immune to the daily losses that we view them as less important than Harambe. Why is there global focus on Cincinnati Zoo and these parents but the world just quietly (in comparison) accepts deaths like Tamir Rice or John Crawford without a hiccup.

Something f'ing wrong here. I need a drink.

[1monster]

2. I recommend your post.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Apparently you have memory loss problems. So many DU'ers were overwhelmed about John Crawford,

and Tamir Rice. I can't believe you didn't pay enough attention during those event reactions to even remember the impact
among Democrats at D.U.

Maybe you were paying too much attention to what the trolls had to say. As we all know, they are not here for the reasons that bring the human beings, and they don't give much of a flip what happens to human beings at all. They couldn't be right-wingers if they did.

Take the time to be aware of your surroundings reading at D.U. People of good faith, people of honor, human beings were horrified, and furious, absolutely beside themselves.

Racist dirbag trolls weren't.

Don't feel you need to preach at Democrats. You're in the wrong place for that. Real Democrats are the only humans here, along with the other progressives.

[CincyDem]

5. Thanks for that. Appreciate the perspective.

I do remember the outrage among Democrats at DU and I don't have much recollection of "the trolls". I'm also well aware of my surroundings but it's always good to get a reminder.

What I didn't see following either Tamir Rice or John Crawford was a petition with over 100k signatures within 72 hours calling for the head of the dispatcher who failed to pass along critical information about Rice's toy guy. There was no global outrage about discrepancy between the Crawford 911 caller's description of the situation and the video evidence.

Wanting "justice for Harambe" has become a global meme in more than a few languages...why not for Tamir, John or any of the others. Weren't they worth it?

t'm sorry that I left the impression I was preaching. My intention was simply to vent about what I see as an imbalance in the world (that's bigger than DU) on how we focus our attention.

The lesson I take from this exchange is that, in spite of my need to vent, DU is not that place for it. Thanks for that.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Two totally different kinds of problems. The ones against people were the result of absolutely evil,

incomprehensible race hatred and shocking arrogance. Far, FAR more complex than anything which lends itself to slogans, "memes" or petitions.

So MUCH more complex, so much more a festering cancer in our daily lives, a part of our lives which STILL is part of the inner workings of truly sociopathic, constantly hate-filled US American citizens who revel in their hatred, relish it, live in it as if it were their true spiritual home.

THOSE people are embedded in our culture, they are aren't going away any time soon, they will NEVER be enlightened, changed, transformed, and they hope to influence as many as they can before doing the world a favor by spontaneously combusting. There is no way to overcome their putrid impact on this otherwise beautiful planet soon.

No petitions, no "memes," just the innocents, and these stomping, violent @$$holes. We hope to survive them and their damage. We hope the world will purify itself, and shake them off.

Quite a different case from the situation with the ignorant, slow-witted woman and her stupid brat.

[Democat]

8. Are you joking or new to DU?

Yeah, there were no DU threads about Tamir Rice.

And no one can be angry about the death of an extremely endangered species because the police shot someone last year.

Great points.

[Marrah_G]

4. Regardless of how the child got there, it came down to an ape or a human child

The child comes first.

I am very sad that the gorilla was killed, but I am not angry at the people who had to kill him. If we are going to have dangerous animals in zoos we need to put more thought into keeping people out of the enclosures.

[NobodyHere]

6. I hope not

For some reason this country believes that the criminal "justice" system is the answer to everything.