cleveland 2 cops still in jeopardy over boy’s killing

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Despite the grand jury decision not to charge a white patrolman in the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, the case is far from over for the city of Cleveland, the officers involved in the shooting, or the black boy’s grief-stricken family.

The family is suing the city, federal prosecutors are looking into possible civil-rights charges against Timothy Loehmann and his partner, and the two officers face a departmental investigation that could result in disciplinary action, including firing.

Tamir was carrying what turned out to be a pellet gun when Loehmann shot and killed the boy within two seconds of emerging from his police cruiser in November 2014.

On Monday, prosecutors said a grand jury concluded that Loehmann reasonably believed that it was a real gun and that his life was in danger.

The case has stirred racial tensions and added Cleveland to the list of U.S. cities – Ferguson, Mo.; Baltimore; North Charleston, S.C.; and New York City, among them – where blacks have died in the past two years at the hands of police.

On Tuesday, about 50 people marched peacefully in front of the county courthouse in downtown Cleveland to protest the grand jury decision. Demonstrators chanted, “Justice for Tamir!”

In addition to the potential legal and financial consequences is the human cost. Tamir’s mother, Samaria, must live without her boy, a happy-go-lucky kid in a man-sized body. Loehmann, Garmback and other officers were surprised to learn after the shooting that Tamir was just 12.

Family attorney Subodh Chandra said Samaria Rice wept for much of the day after Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty’s announcement that Loehmann and Garmback wouldn’t be charged.