buzzz worthy. . .
On Monday, jurors decided not indict two Ohio police in the 2014 shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Video footage released by the Cleveland Police Department showed that within 2 seconds of arriving on the scene at a recreational center, a White police officer gunned down the Black boy in response to a witness reporting the child waving what looked like a toy gun. It was later revealed it was a pellet gun. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said in a press conference the situation was sad, but not a crime.
McGinty recommended that no charges be filed against Timothy Loehmann and his partner Frank Garmback. Loehman was charged with homicide, and dereliction of duty. Officer Frank Garmback was charged negligent homicide and dereliction of duty.
On Monday, jurors decided not indict two Ohio police in the 2014 shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Video footage released by the Cleveland Police Department showed that within 2 seconds of arriving on the scene at a recreational center, a White police officer gunned down the Black boy in response to a witness reporting the child waving what looked like a toy gun. It was later revealed it was a pellet gun. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said in a press conference the situation was sad, but not a crime.
McGinty recommended that no charges be filed against Timothy Loehmann and his partner Frank Garmback. Loehman was charged with homicide, and dereliction of duty. Officer Frank Garmback was charged negligent homicide and dereliction of duty.
According to AP, the Grand Jury was not notified of the prosecutor's recommendation before making its final decision, according to the prosecutor's office.
Similar incidents in which police were not penalized for killing unarmed Blacks has heightened racial tensions and spawned the #justiceorelse movement.
Rices's family's reaction is follows in the press release below.
Similar incidents in which police were not penalized for killing unarmed Blacks has heightened racial tensions and spawned the #justiceorelse movement.
Rices's family's reaction is follows in the press release below.
TAMIR RICE’S FAMILY MOURNS FOR TAMIR AFTER NON-INDICTMENT OF OFFICERS
CLEVELAND, OH — After over a year of waiting for a grand jury
decision regarding the shooting of Tamir Rice by police officers Timothy
Loehmann and Frank Garmback, the grand jury has decided not to indict
either officer.
The Rice family released the following statement shortly after the grand jury released their decision:
“My
family and I are in pain and devastated by the non-indictment of
officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback for the murder of our
beloved Tamir. After this investigation—which took over a year to
unfold—and Prosecutor McGinty’s mishandling of this case, we no longer
trust the local criminal-justice system, which we view as corrupt.
Prosecutor
McGinty deliberately sabotaged the case, never advocating for my son,
and acting instead like the police officers’ defense attorney. In a time
in which a non-indictment for two police officers who have killed an
unarmed black child is business as usual, we mourn for Tamir, and for
all of the black people who have been killed by the police without
justice. In our view, this process demonstrates that race is still an
extremely troubling and serious problem in our country and the
criminal-justice system.
I don’t want my child to have died for
nothing and I refuse to let his legacy or his name be ignored. We will
continue to fight for justice for him, and for all families who must
live with the pain that we live with.
As the video shows, Officer
Loehmann shot my son in less than a second. All I wanted was someone to
be held accountable. But this entire process was a charade.
I pray and hope that the federal government will investigate this case.”