Cleveland officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice will not face criminal charges

[niyad]

Cleveland officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice will not face criminal charges

Grand jury declines to indict white officer Timothy Loehmann and partner over shooting of 12-year-old, citing lack of evidence of criminal misconduct


Ohio grand jury clears Cleveland police in death of Tamir Rice. The white police officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice, an African American 12-year-old, will not face criminal charges, it was announced on Monday – more than a year after the shooting in Cleveland.

A grand jury declined to indict officer Timothy Loehmann, who opened fire on Tamir less than two seconds after arriving at a park where the 12-year-old was playing with a toy gun on 22 November 2014. Loehmann’s partner, Frank Garmback, will also face no charges, Cuyahoga county prosecutor Timothy McGinty announced at a press conference.

McGinty argued that Tamir’s death was caused by a “perfect storm of human error, mistakes and miscommunications by all involved that day” but there was no evidence of criminal misconduct by police. The two officers believed they were responding to a “potential active shooter situation” and had not been provided with crucial details of a 911 call reporting that Rice was likely a juvenile with a gun that was “probably fake”, McGinty said.

“Had the officers been aware of these qualifiers, the training officer who was driving might have approached the scene with less urgency; lives may not have been put at stake,” McGinty said.

. . . .

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/28/tamir-rice-shooting-no-charges-cleveland-officer-timothy-loehmann

[ryan_cats]

1. On

On one hand, you shouldn't point a gun at a cop.

On the other hand, are we to hold a 12 year old to the standard of an adult?

On the third hand, which I've had surgically implanted, would they have shot a white kid?

[niyad]

2. no, they wouldn't.

. . . .

Neither officer administered any first aid to Rice after the shooting. He died on the following day.[11]

Rice's gun was later found to be an Airsoft replica that lacked the orange safety feature marking it as a replica and not a true firearm.[12][13] A surveillance video of the shooting was released by police four days later, on November 26.[14] On June 3, the County Sheriff's Office released a statement in which they declared their investigation to be completed and that they had turned their findings over to the county prosecutor, who will review the report and decide whether to present evidence to a grand jury.[15]

In the aftermath of the shooting, it was reported that Loehmann, in his previous job as a policeman in Independence, Ohio, had been deemed an emotionally unstable recruit and unfit for duty.[16] The incident received national and international coverage, in part due to the time of its occurrence, coming shortly after the police shootings of several other black males.

. . . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Tamir_Rice

[uppityperson]

4. Tamir did not point a gun at a cop. Nt

[HughBeaumont]

15. TAMIR RICE DID NOT POINT A FUCKING GUN AT EITHER OFFICER.

HE WAS SHOT IN 0.79 SECONDS. I dunno, is a confused 12 year old all of a sudden the fastest draw in Northeast Ohio?

GOD DAMN IT.

Do you people only see what you want to see? Did you even watch the video?

[uppityperson]

3. Why the HELL would a cop drive right next to an active shooter and endanger his partner and himself?

[niyad]

6. "unstable and unfit for duty"-- that is just for starters.

[HughBeaumont]

16. And the surrounding area.

Furthermore, why was his gun unholstered and ready to fire? Seems to me Timothy Loehmann was going hunting. There was no interest in negotiating or proper police procedure . . . this "cop" plain and simply just wanted to kill a human being.

[MohRokTah]

5. Message received loud and clear.

Cleveland cops can murder black people at will with no consequences.

They are above the law.

[dana_b]

7. they didn't shoot this white woman who aimed a realistic looking gun

at police. No, it wasn't real, but she aimed and said "boom, boom".

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/Boom-Boom-Boom-Woman-Points-Fake-Gun-at-Police-in-Torrington-363536941.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_CHBrand

[niyad]

8. well, she IS white, after all!

[saturnsring]

12. and it wasnt the same cop

[niyad]

13. nobody said it was. her being white seems to be the relevant factor.

[saturnsring]

14. not being the same cop is also relevant - would they have shot the 66 y.o. woman if she was an

African American woman and all other facts being equal?

[LanternWaste]

18. I'd attempt to rationalize it as such too if my bias demanded it of me...

I'd attempt to rationalize it as such too if my bias demanded it of me...

[saturnsring]

19. yea youre correct if one guy in cleveland is an asshat this different guy in chicago must be one

also. me and my biased rationalizations . you know, one might draw the same conclusion if they let facts get in the way of their own pre-conceived notions

[Turbineguy]

9. People who like to harm children

need a home too.

Apparently.

All the way around a sad state of things.

[niyad]

10. indeed it is.

[daleanime]

11. "might'....."may not"......

#$*%&*(%^

[Octafish]

17. Now THAT's a crime.

On top of murder in the second degree, of course.

The CHILD with the TOY gun never had a chance.