No. Pellet/BB guns have never had orange tips. They aren't required to and is a real issue that ignorant reporters (and readers) just swallow the idea that Tamir was more culpable because he "removed the orange tip"

Tamir's weapon

OK, i'll be as honest as possible. When i first read about this I looked up the exact gun on this website but it isn't there anymore. Airsoft guns have tips, BB guns (and real ones) don't. I can't prove which it is now but it doesn;t matter for 2 reasons: 1. The police never saw the tip of the gun before he was shot. 2. Even if the gun was real it wouldn't matter (see end)

Police continue to say it's an airsoft gun with the tip removed. Every article i read says it's a pellet gun. The whole thing stinks of police trying to construct a story where every detail supports them, but was later dis-proven: Inconsistencies in Police Account

The initial account was given by Deputy Chief of Field Operations Ed Tomba, before the video emerged:[29]

1. Police said that Tamir Rice was seated at a table with other people. The video showed that Rice was alone.[30]

2. Police said that as they pulled up, they saw Tamir Rice grab the gun and put it in his waistband. This is not supported by the video.

3. Police said they got out of the car and told Tamir Rice three times to put his hands up but he refused. The video shows Tamir being shot before the police car comes to a halt.[31][32]

4. Police said that Tamir Rice then reached into his waistband and pulled out the gun, and was then shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann. The video shows that Tamir did not pull out the gun. [33]

5. Police described the gun as looking real and later explained that the neon tip of the gun was missing. Given that Tamir did not pull out the gun it is difficult to see how the police could spot the missing orange neon tip at the time of the shooting.

Also note right after the shooting, police said Loehmann commanded him 3x (in under 2 seconds) to "drop his weapon". Much later, the story was changed to "ordered to raise his hands" Video later shows he wasn't holding anything, but wouldn't he have to reach for it to drop it??? Video also casts doubt that any verbal commands were given at all. I don't think the audio was ever released. hmmmm.

But all of those lies aren't surprising because cops are always justfied. The number of people who point toy guns at cops right before they are shot is baffling:

OK, here's what matters: Cleveland police, just months before Tamir was killed, were given very specific procedures to deal with reports of open carry weapons.

"Expect citizens to call the police when they see someone openly carrying a firearm. The fact that someone has called 911 or flagged down an officer to report someone with a firearm in public is not by itself enough to support an investigative stop or detention. In such situations, an officer must observe the subject and evaluate the totality of circumstances to determine whether reasonable suspicion exists to justify detaining the individual for further investigation."

None of these procedures were followed. Officers willingly created a situation where the most likely outcome was death. They are either egregiously incompetent and should never have a badge or gun, or willfully killed a boy without cause, lied about it, and should not only lose the badge, but go to prison. Let a jury (and public) with ALL the facts decide.