Cleveland officers want delay in lawsuit over boy’s shooting

CLEVELAND (AP) — Two Cleveland police officers involved in the deadly shooting of a 12-year-old boy carrying a pellet gun are asking a judge to delay the family’s lawsuit against them.

The officers want the suit to be stopped until the criminal investigation is completed and works its way through the courts.

They say that delaying the lawsuit would allow them to give their side of the story later without worrying that it might be used against them in the criminal case.

Tamir Rice had an airsoft gun that shoots nonlethal plastic pellets when an officer shot him last November at a playground. His family’s lawsuit includes allegations of excessive force and negligence.

A police union official says the white officer had no way of knowing Tamir wasn’t carrying a real firearm.