#Roommates, it’s been six years since the heartbreaking death of Tamir Rice at the hands of two Cleveland police officers—and this latest update in the case is more upsetting news. The Department of Justice just decided that no charges will be filed against the officers responsible for Tamir Rice’s death back in 2014.
@APNews reports, the 2014 murder of 12-year-old Tamir Rice sadly will not have the conclusion that many were hoping for, as the Department of Justice recently announced it would not bring federal criminal charges against the two Cleveland police officers responsible for his murder. The DOJ said that the quality of the video of the shooting was too poor for prosecutors to conclusively establish what happened to Tamir. The case has now been officially closed by the DOJ, who released a statement stressing that the judgement does not mean the actions of the officers are not condoned—but rather says the cumulative evidence was not enough to support a federal criminal civil rights prosecution.
In this case, the DOJ said that the poor-quality surveillance video recorded in the area where the shooting took place, prevented prosecutors from being able to conclusively determine whether Tamir Rice was or was not reaching for his toy gun just prior to being shot. The two officers who were investigated told authorities soon after the shooting that Tamir was reaching for his toy weapon prior to being shot and was given multiple commands to show his hands.
In a statement, Subodh Chandra, an attorney for Tamir Rice’s family, said the Department of Justice’s “process was tainted” and the family has demanded prosecutors provide additional information about recommendations made during the probe. “It’s beyond comprehension that the Department couldn’t recognize that an officer who claims he shouted commands when the patrol car’s window was closed and it was a winter day is lying. The Rice family has been cheated of a fair process yet again.”
You’ll recall that on November 22, 2014, Tamir Rice was playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center in Cleveland when he was shot and killed by officer Timothy Loehmann, who is white, seconds after Loehmann and his partner, officer Frank Garmback, arrived at the scene. The officers were called to the recreation center by a man drinking beer who called 911 to report that a “guy” was pointing a gun at people. The caller told a 911 dispatcher that it was probably a juvenile and the gun might be “fake,” though that information was never relayed to the officers.
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