Rice, 12, was shot and killed outside a recreation center by then-Cleveland policeman Timothy Loehmann, who officials said had mistaken a black toy airsoft pistol for a real firearm.
The death of Rice, who was black, in November 2014 grew to exemplify the allegations of excessive use of force by the police that defined the Black Lives Matter movement.
Loehmann, who was in field training, arrived at the scene in a vehicle driven by police officer Frank Garmback.
According to the statement, federal prosecutors for the Civil Rights Division and the Northern Ohio District Attorney’s Office concluded that they could not prove that Rice’s constitutional rights were violated or that the police obstructed justice.
“To establish a violation of federal civil rights, the government would have to prove that Officer Loehmann’s actions were unreasonable in the circumstances and that his actions were intentional,” said federal prosecutors. “… an officer is authorized to use lethal force when he reasonably believes that the suspect poses an imminent threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others.”
Prosecutors said that because the police said Loehmann thought Rice was looking for a gun, the Justice Department would have to prove that “1) Tamir was not picking up his weapon; and 2) that Officer Loehmann did not realize Tamir was reaching for your weapon, despite your consistent statements to the contrary. ”
Federal officials said the video was grainy, filmed from a distance, did not show the entire incident and did not provide details.
Prosecutors analyzed video evidence of the incident, as well as testimony from officers, interviews with witnesses and expert testimony.
CNN contacted Loehmann, Garmback and the Rice family for comment.
Loehmann was fired in May 2017, not because of the shooting, but because investigators found he was not true about his job history when he applied, officials said.
Garmback was suspended for 10 days because he violated tactical rules related to the way he drove to the place where Rice was shot that day.
Loehmann shot Rice after a witness called 911 to report that someone was brandishing a gun in a park. The caller noted that the person was “probably a young man” and that the gun was “probably a fake”, the records show.
But a dispatcher did not share the qualifications with the responding officers, Loehmann and Garmback.
The video of the incident shows Loehmann arriving in a vehicle driven by Garmback. The car approaches Rice and, less than two seconds after the vehicle arrives, Loehmann shoots the boy.
Loehmann and Garmback said in written statements dated November 2015 that they thought Rice was pulling a real gun from her waist.