Witness Statements Contradict Account of Officer Who Killed Tamir Rice

A prosecutor’s comprehensive account of the investigation into the police killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice last November included witness reports that contradict a Cleveland officer’s claim that he shouted a warning before shooting the boy.

The Guardian reports:

Tamir was shot as he played in a Cleveland park, after police responded to a 911 call reporting a male with a firearm. He was playing with a toy plastic gun. The death and a delay in its investigation sparked public outrage and protests.

On Thursday, Cleveland municipal court judge Ronald Adrine said he found probable cause to bring a murder charge against the officer who fired the fatal shot, Timothy Loehmann. Adrine’s ruling, which prosecutors will consider, followed a request to look into the case by a group known as the Cleveland 8, a number of clergymen and local activists who support the Rice family.

In releasing a redacted 224-page account of the investigation by the Cuyahoga County sheriff’s department on Saturday, prosecutor Timothy McGinty said his intention was to be transparent.

Read more here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.