Ahead of the non-indictment of the officers involved in the death of Tamir Rice, a woman in Connecticut was reprimanded for a similar offense – only she was not killed. Elaine Rothenberg, 66, was outside of a Torrington police station with a faux weapon, attempting to provoke civilians and officers on Christmas Eve. She later stood near an employee-only entrance and ordered officers, NBC Miami reports.
“What are you doing? Shoot me!” Rothenberg told the Torrington police. “Boom, boom, boom.”
A 911 call was placed at about 7:30 p.m. on the night of the incident. Rothenberg reportedly purchased the BB gun with the intent to pass it off as a real weapon. On the date of the announcement of the ruling in Rice’s case, the following tweet was posted in conjunction with the unfortunate news:
‘Boom, Boom, Boom’: Woman points fake gun at police: https://t.co/pdVnxXvjVH pic.twitter.com/0pS4FhBi7z
— NBC 6 South Florida (@nbc6) December 26, 2015
Rothenberg was charged with second-degree breach of peace, first-degree threatening, 7 counts of reckless endangerment, and interfering with the police. She is currently in custody.