A GRAND JURY has declined to indict a Cleveland police officer or his partner for their roles in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, a black youngster who was holding what turned out to be a pellet gun.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty says a “perfect storm of human error” led to the death of Tamir.
The prosecutor announced today that the grand jury has declined to indict the rookie police officer or his partner for their roles in the November 2014 shooting.
McGinty says newly enhanced video shows that it is “indisputable” that Tamir was removing his gun from his waistband when he was shot.
It’s almost certain that Tamir intended to hand it over to the officers or to show them that it wasn’t a real gun said McGinty. But he says there’s no way the officers in question could have known that.
Shooting
Patrolman Timothy Loehmann fatally shot Tamir within two seconds of a police cruiser driven by his partner Frank Garmback skidding to a stop near the boy outside a city recreation centre in November 2014.
The charges come after a lengthy investigation by the Cuyahoga County sheriff’s office and county prosecutors and a grand jury presentation that began in late October.
A video of the shooting captured by a surveillance camera provoked outrage nationally and made Tamir a central figure in a protest movement over police killings.
Loehmann and his partner had responded to a 911 call about a man waving a gun. Tamir was carrying a borrowed airsoft gun that looked like a real gun but shot nonlethal plastic pellets.
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