The Justice Department has decided to close the sensational civil rights investigation into the murder of Tamir Rice, without filing charges, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Rice, 12, who was black, was carrying a shotgun when he was shot in 2014 by a White Cleveland police officer.
In this December 1, 2014 photo, Tomiko Shine holds up a photo of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a novice police officer in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 22 during a rally in Washington, DC
(AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana, file)
The DOJ will announce on Tuesday that career prosecutors reviewing the federal investigation into the fatal shooting at Tamir Rice have found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges against Cleveland police officers involved in the incident.
KLEVELANDS OFFICER Fired in TAMIR RICE SHOOTING, ANOTHER OFFICER
According to the DOJ, the child was seen in the Cudell Park Recreation Center throughout the day, waving the weapon and allegedly pointing at more than one person.
Investigators said the toy “visually was virtually indistinguishable from an actual .45 Colt semi-automatic pistol.”
Investigators said the toy “visually was virtually indistinguishable from an actual .45 Colt semi-automatic pistol.”
(Department of Justice)
Eventually, someone called 911 to indicate, according to the DOJ, a “man with a gun” pointing it at people visiting the playground. But the caller also described the person with the gun as ‘probably a juvenile’ and said the object in his hand was ‘probably fake’.
Although he was only 12, Tamir was 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed 195 pounds, authorities said.
The dispatcher sent a high-priority call, but the officers responding to it were not told, according to investigators, the callers’ reservations about Tamir’s probable age and that the gun was possibly a toy.
“The officers believed they were responding to a playground where an adult male was firing a real gun at individuals, presumably children as well,” the DOJ said.
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Two officers showed up and according to statements they gave to investigators, Tamir ordered his hands to be shown. They both said they believed he grabbed a gun before one of them, Officer Timothy Loehmann, opened fire.
Moments after getting out of the car, the boy was shot. The grain video shows him falling and dropping a black object, which according to investigators was the airsoft rifle.
The DOJ said Tamir’s family was informed on Monday before the announcement of his decision.
In order to convict Loehmann of a federal civil rights violation, prosecutors would have to prove he acted unreasonably and willfully, the DOJ said.
Due to a lack of evidence, investigators said they could not do so.
Video evidence was unconvincing, there were only two witnesses, who according to the investigators were more than 300 meters away and ‘shed little light on Tamir’s actions’, and expert analysis also did little to help.
“Based on this evidence and the high burdens of applicable federal laws, career prosecutors have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Tamir is not grabbing his toy gun; so there is insufficient evidence to establish states that Officer Loehmann acted unreasonably under the circumstances, ”the DOJ said.