Cuyahoga County Grand Jury Declines To Indict Officers In Rice Case

McGinty said he concluded the officers acted reasonably considering their belief that Rice was armed and that new analysis of video footage of the shooting proved it was “indisputable” that the child was pulling what was believed to be a gun from his waistband.

Two Cleveland police officers won’t be charged in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Rice had the top gun when he was shot dead by Lohemann on a playground outside a Cleveland recreational center in November 2014.

But the boy’s family has filed a civil lawsuit over his death in November 2014, amid anger over a number of killings of black citizens by police officers across the United States.

There was no immediate comment from Loehmann after the decision was announced.

A Cleveland resident identifying himself as Talis X participates in a demonstration on the 6-month anniversary of the shooting of Tamir Rice by a Cleveland police officer in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, May 23, 2015.

Other witnesses said the pellet gun had previously malfunctioned and that Rice was unable to replace the orange tip on the gun after putting it back together.

Opponents to the grand jury’s decision, including presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, have asked for federal intervention.

In the call the operator was told the suspect was probably a juvenile and the gun probably a fake, information which was not passed on to the responding officers.

“There have been lessons learned already. It should never happen again, and the city has taken steps so it doesn’t”, McGinty said.

LeGrier’s father said his son had mental health issues and that he called the police early in the morning because his son had threatened him with a metal baseball bat.

The attorneys said that Tamir’s family was not surprised but still disappointed by the jury’s decision.

“Someone other than the elected county official who works very closely with law enforcement officers in this community day in and day out should have probably made this decision”, said Walter Madison, Rice Family Attorney. Federal prosecutors in Cleveland noted Monday that a civil rights investigation into the shooting is under way. They said they ordered Rice to drop the weapon before Loehmann fired.

The Cleveland mayor said Monday the city would proceed with an administrative review of the incident now that the criminal process has ended.

Tamir was shot by patrolman Timothy Loehmann within two seconds of a police cruiser skidding to a stop near the boy. He was facing us, ” Loehmann said in his statement to investigators. Rather than “a ideal storm of human error” as Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty described this tragedy, Rice’s death and the lack of accountability for it are a result of racial profiling, incompetent 911 services, over-zealous and reckless policing practices, and a systemic bias in favor of police.

“He could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal”, according to the letter written by Deputy Chief Jim Polak of the Independence police. So far, there have been just a handful of peaceful protests around the city.

On Monday evening, two dozen protesters escorted by police cars walked 3 miles (5 km) in freezing rain from the recreation centre to the station where the officers were assigned chanting, “Indict, convict and send the killer cops to jail, the whole damn system is guilty as hell”.

McGinty had previously said his office wasn’t using the reports to reach a conclusion and that the grand jury would get to consider all the evidence to reach its decision.