Tamir Rice grand jury declines to charge officers in fatal shooting

The grand jury was asked to determine whether Officer Timothy Loehmann, a rookie cop, or his training officer, Frank Garmback, should face charges in the killing.

The prosecutor also said police radio personnel contributed to the tragedy by failing to pass along the “all-important fact” that the 911 caller said the gunman was probably a juvenile and the gun probably wasn’t real. Tamir’s family had pushed for charges against the officers.

Tamir was gunned down by patrolman Timothy Loehmann within two seconds of his police cruiser skidding to a stop near the boy outside a city recreation center in November 2014. They said Tamir reached for his waistband and that they saw a gun.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty made the announcement today.

Investigations and grand jury decisions in other high-profile deaths have come much faster.

McGinty says “it was a tough conversation” with Tamir’s mother.

McGinty has said prosecutors will make a recommendation to the grand jury on charges before the panel votes.

Grand jury proceedings are supposed to be secret, but McGinty has released expert reports and investigative documents to the media and public while citing his desire for transparency in how the case is being handled. Within seconds of arriving on the scene, Loehmann shoots the boy.

McGinty also said newly enhanced video provides “indisputable” evidence that Rice was taking the pellet gun out of the waistband of his trousers at the time of the shooting. McGinty surmised that Rice was probably just trying to show the officers that the gun wasn’t real, but said the officers are not required to take that chance.

“His response was a reasonable one”, Crawford has written.