Kasich: Tamir Rice protesters ‘need to be heard’

Tamir’s family charged that McGinty improperly hired use of-force experts to tell the grand jury that Loehmann’s actions were reasonable.

The case has stirred racial tensions and added Cleveland to the list of US cities – Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore; North Charleston, South Carolina; and New York City, among them – where blacks have died in the past two years at the hands of police.

Protests were expected later Tuesday over the grand jury’s decision in the 2014 shooting of Rice, who drew what turned out to be a toy pistol on the police.

The group’s call for change soon took to the streets as the group marched the police station chanting things like “black kids matter” and “no justice, no peace, no racist police”.

“I’m going to have the same conversations about race with my children that my mother had with me”, said Welbeck, an African-American studies professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, who is in his early 30s.

The officers have been on restricted duty since the shooting and will remain so through an administrative review, police said.

Cleveland Councilman Jeff Johnson announced Tuesday night via Twitter that he plans to request the city law director to file negligent homicide charges against the officers involved in the Tamir Rice case.

“It would be irresponsible and unreasonable if the law required a police officer to wait and see if the gun was real”, Mr McGinty told reporters.

“Simply put, given this flawless storm of human error, mistakes and miscommunications by all involved that day, the evidence did not indicate criminal conduct by police”, McGinty said.

About 50 people are marching peacefully in front of the Cuyahoga County Justice Center in downtown Cleveland to protest a grand jury’s decision not to indict two white Cleveland police officers in the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice, a black 12-year-old boy who was playing with a pellet gun.

Surveillance video showed Rice was fatally shot within seconds of the patrol auto arriving on the scene as he began to pull the toy gun out of his waistband.

“If this had gone to trial and both officers were found not guilty, I would have been content with that. That memory will never go away”.

The US Attorney’s Office in Cleveland is investigating the possibilities of a civil case and is reviewing the circumstances of the shooting.

Following the long-awaited announcement, the Rice’s attorney, Subodh Chandra, said that the family was “saddened and disappointed” but definitely not “surprised” by the outcome.

“Rice’s death is not a Cleveland issue – just like Eric Garner’s death is not a NY issue or Michael Brown’s death is not a St. Louis issue”.

On Monday, a grand jury determined the two shouldn’t face criminal charges. A judge ultimately acquitted the patrolman of manslaughter.

A civil suit filed by the family against the city, and the officers, is still pending in federal court.

“This decision does not mean the legal system is finished with this case”, he said. Loehmann and his training partner, Frank Garmback, were responding to a 911 call about a man waving a gun.

“I’m sad and I’m disheartened all at the same time”, said activist Laura Cowan, who participated in protests at the Cleveland park where Rice was shot.