Officer who murder 12-year-old found innocent -Family suspects foul-play

'[T]his was a perfect storm of human error.'

Last year in Cleveland, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by a police officer after reports of the boy carrying a weapon reached two officers near Rice's location.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Rice was a young black boy who was carrying a toy gun outside a recreation center last year. Someone called 911 and told police the boy's weapon was "probably fake." 

Unfortunately for Rice, the fake gun caution did not reach the officers who responded to the call.

Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback were captured on video as they pulled their police cruiser within a few feet of Rice. Officer Loehmann stepped from the vehicle and almost immediately fired his weapon.

Rice died hours later.

Timothy J. McGinty, the county prosecutor who announced the officers' innocence at a news conference, stated, "this was a perfect storm of human error" as the evidence the grand jury considered over a period of two months "did not constitute criminal action by police."

McGinty explained that the law gives the benefit of the doubt to police officers "who must make a split second decision," adding it was "indisputable" that Rice was drawing a weapon from his waistband when he was shot, though whether he did so in an effort to hand over the toy or to show officers it was fake remains unknown.

Though many believe Rice was killed because he was black, McGinty reminded the public that there was no way the officers could have known whether the weapon was real or not, before stating he "appreciated the sincere emotion and concern of all citizens," but asked them to "respect the process."

Versions of the sheriff's investigation, as well as three independent reports, indicate Officer Loehmann reacted reasonably when he shot Rice.

McGinty commissioned the reports and said they would not "taint the fairness of the grand jury process," a comment which was criticized by Rice's family, who believed the investigation, which progressed slowly, had already been tainted.

Neither officer has been indited, though evidence of Officer Loehmann's reactions to situations has come under question, particularly as reports show he resigned from an Ohio police department following a "dangerous loss of composure" during firearms training.

That record had not been reviewed hen the Cleveland police department offered Officer Loehmann a job.

Sadly, Rice's death is one among several black deaths at the hands of Cleveland police in recent years. As The New York Times reported, in 2012, thirteen officers fired a total of 137 rounds at Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, both of whom were unarmed, when Russell started a car chase.

McGinty presented evidence in each of the fatal police encounters before the grand jury, leaving some activists to question the fairness of the process. Because of this, family lawyers have asked for a special prosecutor to take over the case and asked that the Justice Department investigate McGinty's intentions.

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