Officer won't face charges in Cleveland boy's shooting death

A Cleveland grand jury declined today to indict a white police officer in the fatal shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in November 2014.

Patrolman Timothy Loehmann and his training partner, Frank Garmback, were responding to a call about a man waving a gun in front of a city recreation center. When the officers arrived, Rice began to pull what turned out to be an airsoft gun from the waistband of his pants. It’s not clear whether he intended to hand it over to police or show them it wasn’t real, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty said.

But Loehmann, who fired the fatal shots, and Garmback had no way to know the gun was fake, the grand jury determined. The panel began hearing testimony and considering evidence in mid-October.

“Simply put, given this perfect storm of human error, mistakes and miscommunications by all involved that day, the evidence did not indicate criminal conduct by police,” McGinty said in announcing the decision.

Loehmann had reason to fear for his life and was justified in opening fire, McGinty concluded.

But Rice’s family members, who issued a statement through an attorney, said the grand jury was manipulated into returning its decision not to indict. Family members said they were “saddened and disappointed by this outcome—but not surprised.” They renewed calls for the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the incident but urged protestors to demonstrate peacefully.

While Rice’s gun might have looked real because it was missing the orange tip that easily identified it as a toy, critics say Loehmann was too quick to pull his own gun. A dashcam video of the incident showed Loehmann opening fire within two seconds after the police cruiser skidded to a stop outside the recreation center.

McGinty said the police dispatcher contributed to the confusion by failing to tell officers the 911 caller described Rice as a juvenile and indicated the gun probably wasn’t real. The caller was concerned because Rice had been pointing the toy at other children.

Rice’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the two officers and the city. Earlier this year, the Cleveland Police Department reached a settlement with the Justice Department to overhaul its use of force after another high-profile shooting incident.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.