Activists file appeal to get Cleveland officers arrested

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

A group of activists filed an appeal Thursday that seeks to compel a Cleveland municipal judge to file criminal charges against two white police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black 12-year-old boy with a pellet gun.

The activists, who call themselves the Group of Eight, acknowledged, though, that a grand jury must consider whether the officers should be indicted in the shooting of Tamir Rice in November. Still, they said they are hoping for a favorable ruling by the 8th District Court of Appeals.

Municipal Judge Ronald Adrine ruled last week that affidavits submitted by the group and a video of the shooting were enough evidence to charge patrolmen Timothy Loehmann with murder and both Loehmann and partner Frank Garmback with misdemeanors. But Adrine deferred the filing of charges to prosecutors.

The grainy video recorded from a surveillance camera shows Loehmann, a rookie, fatally shooting Tamir within 2 seconds of a police cruiser driven by Garmback skidding to a stop near the boy. Police say that the officers were responding to a 911 call about a man waving and pointing a gun and that they weren’t told the caller said the gun could be a fake and the man an adolescent.

The group used a section of Ohio law that says private citizens can file affidavits with a judge when they believe a crime has occurred. The law also says that if a judge determines there’s probable cause, which is considered a low evidentiary hurdle, charges “shall” be filed.

But Adrine said in his ruling the “shall” section of the law is trumped by the rules of criminal procedure, which say prosecutors must file a complaint with the court for charges to be filed.

The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department handed off its investigation to the prosecutor June 3. Prosecutor Tim McGinty has said the shooting, like all fatal use-of-force cases involving police, will be presented to a grand jury.

The Group of Eight, which includes ministers and community activists, said it hopes the “shall” portion of the law will prevail before the appeals court. Group members said they want Loehmann and Garmback charged and arrested like everyone else who is suspected of committing a crime.

“Is Cleveland going to be a place where there’s a two-tiered system of justice or a model of transparency, fairness and justice?” asked group member Bakari Kitwana, a writer who lives in a Cleveland suburb.

Kitwana said people have become leery of the justice system because of cases around the country where officers weren’t charged or indicted in fatal shootings and in-custody deaths. He called it an “outrageous pattern” and said it’s not unreasonable to think it could happen in the Tamir Rice case.

A court spokesman said Thursday that Adrine cannot comment on a pending case.