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Day in Review: Grand Jury’s Rice Decision
By: Associated Press
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CLEVELAND – Monday’s announcement from Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty of no charges against the police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice left some local residents shocked and upset, and a few of them decided to express their feelings in the form of a protest march, despite the rainy cold weather. WCPN’S Elizabeth Miller reports from the rally at Cleveland’s Justice Center:
8 p.m.
An attorney representing a white Cleveland police officer who wasn’t indicted for his role in the shooting death of a 12-year-old black boy playing with a pellet gun says the shooting was a “tragic incident” but was legal.
Patrolman Frank Garmback was driving the cruiser that carried him and partner Timothy Loehmann to the scene in November 2014. Loehmann shot Tamir Rice within two seconds of the cruiser skidding to a stop near the boy. Neither officer was indicted.
Garmback’s attorney said Monday the grand jury made the correct decision and the officers acted within the bounds of the law. He says police are authorized to use deadly force.
Tamir’s family has condemned the grand jury decision but urged those disappointed to express themselves peacefully.
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6:30 p.m.
Ohio’s Legislative Black Caucus says the police shooting deaths of a boy holding a pellet gun outside a recreation center and a man holding a BB gun at a Wal-Mart store show “now is the time” for meaningful justice reform in the state.
The caucus says creation of a state task force on community-police relations is a reason for optimism. The task force is charged with developing minimum standards and best practices for police departments.
Caucus members urged on Monday that independent prosecutors be appointed for all deaths caused by police to erase any doubts about impartiality.
Twelve-year-old Tamir Rice was shot by a patrolman within two seconds of a police cruiser skidding to a stop near him in November 2014. John Crawford Jr. was fatally shot by a police officer in August 2014. Grand juries declined to indict the officers involved.
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5:10 p.m.
Cleveland’s mayor says the city and police department will proceed with an administrative review that could result in discipline against the two officers involved in the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old boy with a pellet gun.
Mayor Frank Jackson made the announcement Monday after the Cuyahoga County grand jury declined to criminally indict the officers in the Nov. 22, 2014, killing of Tamir Rice.
Jackson says the internal review could lead to disciplinary proceedings against rookie officer Timothy Loehmann and his training partner, Frank Garmback. Loehmann said he fired at Rice because he feared for his life when he saw the boy pulling a gun from his waistband.
Jackson says the case already has led to policy changes. Police Chief Calvin Williams says the two officers remain on restricted duty.
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4:30 p.m.
The head of Cleveland’s police union says the county grand jury’s refusal to indict officers in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice “is no cause for celebration and there will be none.”
Steve Loomis with the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association says in a statement Monday that the organization is “pleased” with the Cuyahoga County grand jury’s assessment that Officer Timothy Loehmann believed Tamir was wielding a real gun when Loehmann confronted him outside a recreation center on Nov. 22, 2014. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun.
Loomis says “while there is absolutely no upside to this issue, there are lessons that should and will be learned by all.”
Prosecutors say “a perfect storm of human error” led to Tamir’s shooting death.
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4 p.m.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office says an independent civil rights investigation is continuing in the Tamir Rice case.
Michael Tobin says the federal probe is ongoing despite a Cuyahoga County grand jury on Monday declining to indict the officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir on Nov. 22, 2014.
Officer Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir within seconds of emerging from a cruiser because the officer thought the boy was drawing a gun from his waistband. It turned out to be a pellet gun.
Tobin says the U.S. Department of Justice also is continuing to pursue reforms of the police department dictated by a consent decree with the city.
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3:35 p.m.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich says the death of a 12-year-old boy shot by a Cleveland policeman is “a heartbreaking tragedy” and he understands it will leave many people asking whether justice was served.
A prosecutor announced Monday that a grand jury declined to indict two officers involved in the November 2014 confrontation with Tamir Rice, who had a pellet gun.
In a statement sent shortly after the prosecutor’s announcement, Kasich says Ohio has made progress in improving how police and communities work together. He says Ohioans are starting to see a path of change, as he puts it, “so everyone shares in the safety and success they deserve.”
The Republican presidential contender also had a message of unity, saying everyone loses when people let anger and frustration divide them.
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3:30 p.m.
Sheriff’s deputies are bringing in barricades outside a Cleveland courthouse in preparation for potential protests of a grand jury’s decision against indicting the officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice last year.
A handful of protesters were outside the Cuyahoga County Justice Center on Monday afternoon, about an hour after Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced the grand jury’s decision. Five people held up signs, with pictures of Tamir and other people who have been fatally shot by police around the country.
Patrolman Timothy Loehmann fatally shot Tamir Rice within two seconds of a police cruiser driven by Frank Garmback skidding to a stop near the boy in November 2014. Tamir was holding a pellet gun that was missing its telltale orange tip.
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3:05 p.m.
Relatives of 12-year-old Tamir Rice say they’re disappointed but not surprised that a grand jury declined to indict the officer who fatally shot him outside a Cleveland recreation center last year.
In a statement released Monday through a lawyer, the family accuses Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty of “abusing and manipulating the grand jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment.” The family says the prosecutor’s handling of the process compounded their grief.
McGinty says he put the case before a grand jury so the evidence would be reviewed not only by a prosecutor but also by a panel of citizens who would make the final call on whether charges were merited.
The family urged anyone who’s disappointed in the grand jury decision to express that “peacefully and democratically.”
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2:45 p.m.
An assistant prosecutor in Cleveland says 12-year-old Tamir Rice was big for his age and easily could have been mistaken for someone much older.
Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer said Monday that officers responding to a report of someone brandishing a gun outside a recreation center weren’t told that the gunman could be a juvenile.
Meyer says Tamir was 5-foot-7, weighed 175 pounds and wore a men’s XL jacket.
Tamir was carrying a borrowed airsoft gun that looked like a real gun but shot nonlethal plastic pellets. It was missing its telltale orange tip.
Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced earlier Monday that a grand jury had declined to indict a rookie police officer or his partner for their roles in Tamir’s killing in November 2014.
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2:35 p.m.
An assistant prosecutor in Cleveland says security camera footage shows 12-year-old Tamir Rice pointing his pellet gun at people inside a recreation center before he was shot and killed by police.
Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer said Monday that Tamir was seen repeatedly drawing the gun from his waistband and putting it back there the morning before officers arrived. He was also seen pointing the gun at other children.
Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced earlier Monday that a grand jury had declined to indict a rookie police officer or his partner for their roles in Tamir’s killing in November 2014.
A 911 caller said “the guy” with a gun was probably a juvenile and the gun was probably fake. Meyer says a dispatcher didn’t relay that to the officers.
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2:25 p.m.
The prosecutor in Cleveland says the mother of 12-year-old Tamir Rice was “broken up” when she learned that two officers wouldn’t be charged for their roles in his shooting death.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced Monday that a grand jury declined to indict a rookie police officer or his partner for their roles in the November 2014 shooting. Tamir was holding a pellet gun when he was killed.
McGinty says “it was a tough conversation” with Tamir’s mother. Tamir’s family had pushed for charges against the officers.
McGinty also says that the community should begin the healing process now that the grand jury has made its decision. He says lessons have been learned from the shooting, and the city has taken steps to ensure something similar doesn’t happen again.
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2:15 p.m.
The prosecutor in Cleveland says a “perfect storm of human error” led to the death of Tamir Rice, a black youngster who was holding what turned out to be a pellet gun when he was shot by police.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced Monday that a grand jury has declined to indict a rookie Cleveland 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.
He says 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. But he says there’s no way the officers could have known that.
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2:05 p.m.
A grand jury has declined to indict a rookie 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.
Patrolman Timothy Loehmann fatally shot Tamir Rice within two seconds of a police cruiser driven by Frank Garmback skidding to a stop near the boy in November 2014. The decision comes after a lengthy investigation by the Cuyahoga County sheriff’s office and county prosecutors and a grand jury presentation that began in late October.
Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced the grand jury’s decision Monday.
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.
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1:30 p.m.
The prosecutor in Cleveland will hold a Monday afternoon news conference to make an announcement about the grand jury that has been considering whether to charge two Cleveland police officers for shooting 12-year-old Tamir Rice to death.
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty is holding a 2 p.m. news conference about the shooting of Tamir, who was killed while carrying a pellet gun outside a city recreation center in November 2014.
Tamir was shot by patrolman Timothy Loehmann within two seconds of a police cruiser skidding to a stop near the boy. 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.
The grand jury has been hearing evidence and testimony since mid-October.