The Justice Department has decided to close the high-level civil rights investigation into the Tamir Rice murder, without bringing charges, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Rice, 12, who was black, was carrying a lead shotgun when she was shot by a White Cleveland police officer in 2014.
In this December 1, 2014 photo, Tomiko Shine shows a photo of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy shot to death by a novice police officer in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 22, during a protest in Washington, DC
(AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana, Archive)
The DOJ is due to announce on Tuesday that career prosecutors who analyzed the federal investigation into Tamir Rice’s fatal shooting found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges against the Cleveland police officers involved in the incident.
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The child was seen all day at the Cudell Park Recreation Center, waving the gun and reportedly pointing it at more than one person, according to the DOJ.
The researchers said the toy was “visually virtually indistinguishable from a real Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol”.
The researchers said the toy was “visually virtually indistinguishable from a real Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol”.
(Department of Justice)
Eventually, someone called 911 to report a “guy with a pistol” pointing at people visiting the playground, according to the DOJ. But the interlocutor also described the person with the gun as “probably a young man” and said the object in his hand was “probably a fake”.
Although only 12, Tamir was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 195 pounds, officials said.
The dispatcher sent a high priority call, but police officers who responded were not informed of callers’ reservations about Tamir’s likely age and that the weapon may have been a toy, according to investigators.
“The officers believed they were responding to a playground where an adult man was wielding a real weapon against individuals, probably including children,” said the DOJ.
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Two policemen arrived and, according to statements they gave to investigators, ordered Tamir to show his hands. Both said they believed he was taking a gun before one of them, Officer Timothy Loehmann, opened fire.
Moments after getting out of the car, the boy had been shot. Grainy video shows him falling, dropping a black object, which investigators said was the airsoft gun.
The DOJ said it informed Tamir’s family of its decision on Monday, ahead of the announcement.
To convict Loehmann for a violation of federal civil rights, prosecutors would have to prove that he acted irrationally and intentionally, the DOJ said.
Due to a lack of evidence, investigators said they could not do so.
The video evidence was inconclusive, there were only two witnesses, who investigators said were more than 90 meters away and “shed little light on Tamir’s actions”, and expert analysis did little to help.
“Based on this evidence and the high burdens of applicable federal laws, career promoters have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Tamir did not pick up his toy gun; therefore, there is insufficient evidence to establish that Officer Loehmann acted irrationally under the circumstances, “said the DOJ.