Two Reports Find Police Killing Of 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice ‘Reasonable,’ Family

The police shooting death of a 12-year-old Cleveland boy with a pellet gun was reasonable, two experts say in reports prepared for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office released the reports Saturday night but said they were simply part of evidence-gathering, ahead of a grand jury that will decide how and if to charge Loehmann.

The prosecutor’s office requested the investigations, and both reports found Loehmann’s actions were reasonable in response to what he perceived as a threat.

Loehmann fatally shot Rice twice in the torso outside a recreation center in Cleveland November 22, 2014, after a 911 caller said someone who appeared to be a juvenile was waving a pistol.

In June, McGinty released the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office report.

A Rice family attorney, in an emailed statement, accused prosecutors of enlisting the experts in a “whitewash” of the case.

Subodh Chandra said the family wants the officers held accountable, but doesn’t think McGinty’s office is pursuing it. Not the prosecutor, apparently.

The report from retired Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Kimberly A. Crawford said while responding to a report of a person with a gun, Loehmann had to make a “split-second” decision to use deadly force.

He “had no information to suggest the weapon was anything but a real handgun, and the speed with which the confrontation progressed would not give the officer time to focus on the weapon”, she wrote.

“It is my conclusion that Officer Loehmann’s use of deadly force falls within the realm of reasonableness under the dictates of the Fourth Amendment”, Crawford wrote, though she noted she was not issuing an opinion as to whether Loehmann violated Ohio law or department policy.

Surveillance video shows the officer opening fire on Rice within seconds of arriving on the scene.

“Any presentation to a grand jury-without the prosecutor advocating for Tamir-is a charade”, Chandra said, questioning McGinty’s commitment to pursuing justice for Rice.

“These supposed “experts”-all pro-police-dodge the simple fact that the officers rushed Tamir and shot him immediately without assessing the situation in the least”, the statement reads”.

“Reasonable jurors in a criminal trial could find that conduct unreasonable”, Chandra said.

Rice’s killing and that of other unarmed black men and teenagers at the hands of police triggered protests across the country and fueled the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

The grand jury will determine if Loehmann will face criminal charges for Rice’s death.

That agreement was in the works before Tamir was killed.