The Justice Department announced it will not bring federal charges against the two Cleveland police officers involved in the 2014 shooting death of 12 year old Tamir Rice, ending its federal investigation, according to HuffPost and The New York Times.
Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback responded on November 22, 2014 to a 911 call about a person pointing a gun near a Cleveland recreation center. The caller told the dispatcher the person was probably a juvenile and the gun was probably fake. HuffPost reports that this information was not passed along to the officers. Tamir was holding a pellet gun, and Loehmann fired the shots that killed him.
Prosecutors said that to bring federal charges they would have to show the officers willfully broke the law, as opposed to making a mistake, being negligent, or using poor judgment. They noted the officers were the only two witnesses close to the shooting. The department said surveillance video was not clear enough to show whether Tamir was reaching for the replica gun, which is what the officers told investigators. Authorities say the officers gave him multiple commands to show his hands.
A state grand jury previously declined to indict either officer. Experts hired by the Rice family concluded the shooting was unreasonable, while experts hired by local authorities concluded it was reasonable. Loehmann was later fired by the city, which cited problems with his job application.
Tamir’s family has long called for accountability. Baller Alert will continue to follow this story.
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