A white police officer who shot and killed a black 12-year-old carrying a pellet gun in November 2014 will not be indicted, an Ohio prosecutor announced Monday.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said a grand jury declined to charge a Cleveland police officer or his partner in the death of Tamir Rice. The grand jury had been meeting since mid-October.
Surveillance video of the shooting showed patrolman Timothy Loehmann, a rookie at the time, shooting Rice as the cruiser driven by patrolman Frank Garmback skidded to a stop on Nov. 22, 2014. Rice died the next day during surgery.
McGinty called the episode "a perfect storm of human error," but said no crime was committed.
When he was shot, Rice was carrying a plastic airsoft gun that fired nonlethal plastic projectiles and was a replica of an actual firearm. He had borrowed it that morning from a friend who warned him to be careful because the gun looked real.
McGinty said it was "indisputable" that Rice drew the weapon as the officer who shot him approached.
A short, grainy video previously released of the encounter between Rice and the police could be misleading, officials at the news conference said.
"Viewing the video alone, however, provides an incomplete picture," Assistant County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer said Monday.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/2...eath-12-year-old-tamir-rice.html?intcmp=hpbt3
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said a grand jury declined to charge a Cleveland police officer or his partner in the death of Tamir Rice. The grand jury had been meeting since mid-October.
Surveillance video of the shooting showed patrolman Timothy Loehmann, a rookie at the time, shooting Rice as the cruiser driven by patrolman Frank Garmback skidded to a stop on Nov. 22, 2014. Rice died the next day during surgery.
McGinty called the episode "a perfect storm of human error," but said no crime was committed.
When he was shot, Rice was carrying a plastic airsoft gun that fired nonlethal plastic projectiles and was a replica of an actual firearm. He had borrowed it that morning from a friend who warned him to be careful because the gun looked real.
McGinty said it was "indisputable" that Rice drew the weapon as the officer who shot him approached.
A short, grainy video previously released of the encounter between Rice and the police could be misleading, officials at the news conference said.
"Viewing the video alone, however, provides an incomplete picture," Assistant County Prosecutor Matthew Meyer said Monday.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/2...eath-12-year-old-tamir-rice.html?intcmp=hpbt3
