Attorneys: Cops in Tamir Rice case reacted on what they knew

An Ohio grand jury this week decided not to indict Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback.

Tamir’s mother, Samaria Rice, released a heartbreaking statement decrying the grand jury’s decision, alleging that a prosecutor “deliberately sabotaged the case” and calling for the federal government to step in.

In a statement Monday, Tamir’s family accused the prosecutor’s office of mishandling the case. It shows Cleveland po…

Supporters of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was shot dead by a Cleveland police officer last year, are taking to social media, asking for LeBron James’ help.

It was not until after the shooting, with the gun on the ground, that police learned Tamir was playing with a replica firearm that shoots nonlethal plastic pellets, the lawyers said.

Jackson did say the city is going through a lot of soul-searching over the loss of a 12-year-old boy and that many people have lost faith in the system.

Rice’s family says it is “in pain and devastated by the non-indictment of officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback for the murder of our beloved Tamir”.

The man who called 911 told the call-taker that a “guy” was pulling a gun out of his waistband and was pointing it at people outside a city recreation center.

It was “reasonable” to believe the officer who killed the boy believed Tamir was a threat, McGinty said this week, adding that the pellet gun looked like a real handgun.

“It’s against this backdrop that he got this call”, Maloney said.

On Monday, a grand jury concluded the two officers involved in the November 2014 shooting shouldn’t face criminal charges.

Some have suggested the existence of videos that record the circumstances surrounding a shooting have forced prosecutors’ hands when it comes to charging police officers.

In the 41-page response to the family’s lawsuit filed in April, the city said that Tamir’s injuries “were directly and proximately caused by the failure of Plaintiffs’ decedent to exercise due care to avoid injury”.

It’s possible the police officers involved could face disciplinary action if the committee set to review the case determines policies or procedures were violated, Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said.

The attorney for Loehmann, Henry Hilow, said critics have created a national dialogue about the shooting that don’t match the facts about what the officers knew. Of those cases, 10 have included video evidence, something those who have studied police use of deadly force say likely makes the difference in the numbers. “When they act for the safety of the community, they’re vilified for it”.