I lived in Cleveland twenty five years. So the Tamir Rice case is close to my heart. I have nine grandchildren and he was only 12 years old. Each and every senseless murder by police of young men of color has hurt my heart. But this twelve year old, playing in a public park alone and dying in the snow on a cold Cleveland day ripped me to shreds.
Tamir lived close to the park. His sister was home and was 14 years old. A person called 911 that there was a suspicious person in the park and looked like he had a toy gun. The 911 operator radioed the police car and did not say it may have been a child with a toy gun. The cop car rolled up practically on top of twelve year old Tamir. A cop jumped out, called to Tamir, who was into his game, and within two seconds this child was dead. His life cut out without an investigation, without giving the child time to process that a cop car was there and he may have been told to do something. He stopped, turned to the person speaking to him and fell to the ground, dead. Dead and lifeless.
He went out to play on a cold Cleveland snowy day in a public park and then he was dead. Alone. His mother and sister barred by police from going to him and perhaps being able to hold him in their arms as he died. A twelve year old child playing on a winter day with a toy gun was dead and his Mom would never hear him laugh again or see him open his birthday presents ever again. This is just the beginning of the story.
Cleveland Cops Can’t Stop Trolling Tamir Rice’s Family
Published on Apr 25, 2016
Cleveland, Ohio has granted the Tamir Rice family a six million dollar settlement in a civil lawsuit filed against the city and its law enforcement. Unrepentant officials decided to twist the knife into Rice’s parents one more time by saying they hope they spend the settlement money on a campaign warning of the dangers of toy guns. Ana Kasparian, John Iadarola (ThinkTank), and Jimmy Dore, hosts of The Young Turks, break it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.
“THE CITY OF CLEVELAND announced on Monday that it will pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was tragically killed by police officers in 2014 while holding a toy gun.
The Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association released a statement responding to the settlement. Rather than acknowledging any error on the police’s part, the association suggested that the Rice family use the funds to “educate the youth of Cleveland in the dangers associated with the mishandling of both real and facsimile firearms.””*
Shocking Details About Cleveland Cops Who Killed Tamir Rice
Published on Dec 22, 2014
The Cleveland police officers who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice have some hideous stories about them as well as the Cleveland Police Department itself.
Not Justice & Not Enough: Tamir Rice Family Gets $6M Settlement for Police Killing of 12-Year-Old
Published on Apr 26, 2016
http://democracynow.org – As Cleveland officials agree to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of Tamir Rice, the youngest victim in a spate of well-known police killings of unarmed African Americans, we speak with Zoe Salzman, one of his family’s attorneys, and with Rian Brown, an organizer from Black Lives
City agrees to demolish gazebo where Tamir Rice was shot
Friday, April 29th 2016, 8:10 am EDTFriday, April 29th 2016, 9:21 am EDT
By Shanice Dunning, Reporter
Posted by Cleveland 19 Digital Team
CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) –The gazebo where Tamir Rice, 12, was shot by Cleveland police November 2014 will be torn down.
“It needs to be torn down. It needs to be torn down. It’s a bad thing,” said Rice. “I’m hoping the city will allow me to tear it down and redo the park area.”
Posted by Cleveland 19 Digital Team
The city plans to tear it down as soon as Monday, according to Cleveland 19 News reporter, Scott Taylor.
People still come to leave mementos at the spot where Tamir was shot at Cudell Recreation Center.
The city released a statement Friday, saying it had considered disassembling the gazebo at the rec center previously, “but due to criminal, civil and administrative cases, we could not proceed until it was no longer needed for evidential purposes.”
There are plans to build a memorial at Cudell through donations.
A grand jury decided on Dec. 28, 2015 not to indict the two officers involved in the shooting, Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback. Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty said the evidence did not warrant criminal charges.
On Nov. 22, 2014, Tamir was fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer after a report of a male with a gun outside of a Cleveland recreation center. Officers Loehmann and Garmback responded to the scene. Loehmann fired the shot that killed the 12-year-old.
City of Cleveland Settles Tamir Rice Lawsuit for $6 Million
byCORKY SIEMASZKOandTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Another painful chapter in the Tamir Rice tragedy closed Monday when the city of Cleveland agreed to pay $6 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by the slain boy’s family.
Click link below to see statement from Cleveland’s Mayor
Cleveland Mayor on Tamir Rice Settlement: No Price You Can Put On a Life Lost 0:46
But the city admitted no wrongdoing in the death of the 12-year-old black boy who was fatally shot by a white cop while holding a pellet gun outside a recreation center.
Tamir Rice Courtesy Rice family attorney
“Although historic in financial terms, no amount of money can adequately compensate for the loss of a life,” the Rice family’s lawyers said in a statement. “In a situation such as this, there is no such thing as closure or justice. Nothing will bring Tamir back.”
An order filed in U.S. District Court in Cleveland on Monday says the city will pay out $3 million this year and $3 million the next.
Tamir’s estate has been assigned $5.5 million of the settlement amount. A Cuyahoga County probate judge will decide how the amount will be divided. Samaria Rice, Tamir’s mother, will receive $250,000. Claims against Tamir’s estate account for the remaining $250,000. Tamir’s father, Leonard Warner, was dismissed in February as a party to the lawsuit.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said the settlement brought an end to the civil case, but considerable pain — for Rice’s family and the city as a whole — remained.
“While we have settled the legal side of this and the court side of this for $6 million, there is no price you can put on the life of a lost 12-year-old child,” Jackson told reporters.
Asked how the settlement amount squared with the lack of any admission of wrongdoing, the mayor replied: “It’s just a legal way of doing things.”
The settlement won’t impact an ongoing disciplinary investigation against the officers, he said.
The fatal shooting unfolded on Nov. 22, 2014: A police cruiser raced in front of a Cleveland recreation center and rolled up alongside Rice. One of the two police officers inside the car jumped out and fired his service weapon twice. Rice, who earlier had been flashing around a toy pellet gun, crumpled onto the snowy soil.
The incident lasted less than two seconds. (click link below to see video:
Extended Tamir Rice Shooting Video Shows Cops Restraining Sister 2:02)
Tamir Rice shooting: Cleveland to pay $6 million to settle family’s lawsuit
By Michael Pearson, CNN
Updated 10:56 PM ET, Mon April 25, 2016
ayor says he hopes the settlement will begin to move city toward closure
City doesn’t acknowledge fault in the fatal 2014 shooting of 12-year-old boy
(CNN)The city of Cleveland will pay $6 million to settle the federal lawsuit filed by the family of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy killed by police gunfire in November 2014, according to a settlement announced Monday in U.S. District Court.
According to terms of the settlement, the city acknowledges no fault in Tamir’s death, which came after a 911 caller told of someone in a city park brandishing what appeared to be a toy gun.
Officer Timothy Loehmann, a trainee, shot Tamir moments after arriving in response to the call. Police said the boy was pulling out what was later found to be a toy gun when he was shot.
Prosecutor: “Perfect storm of human error” killed Tamir Rice03:35
In December, a grand jury declined to indict Loehmann or his trainer, Officer Frank Garmback, in Tamir’s death. The grand jury concluded the shooting was a “perfect storm of human error, mistakes and communications” but not a criminal act, prosecutor Tim McGinty said at the time.
The family’s January 2015 wrongful death lawsuit argued the city was negligent in Tamir’s death.
The family said dispatchers should have told officers about a 911 caller’s statements that the gun Tamir had was likely a toy, that officers approached the scene too aggressively and Loehmann fired too quickly, and that they failed to help the boy after he was shot.
The family also alleged that Loehmann wasn’t suited to be a police officer and that the city failed to vet or supervise officers properly.
In response, the city said in legal filings that Tamir was at fault and maintained the city was entitled to immunity under state and federal law.
On Monday, Jackson addressed reporters on the settlement, declining to offer details about how the agreement was reached and expressing hope the settlement would begin to move the city toward closure.
But he said, “There is no price that you can put on the life, on the loss, of a 12-year-old child.”
The city will pay half of the money this year, and half next year, according to a document filed in court.
The Cleveland Police Patrolman’s Association responded with a statement. “We have maintained from the onset this has been an absolute tragedy for the Rice family as well as our involved officers and their families. Our hearts continue to be with them,” Stephen Loomis, the president of the association, said in a short emailed statement.
“We can only hope the Rice family and their attorneys will use a portion of this settlement to help educate the youth of Cleveland in the dangers associated with the mishandling of both real and facsimile firearms. Something positive must come from this tragic loss. That would be educating youth of the dangers of possessing a real or replica firearm.
“We look forward to the possibility of working with the Rice family to achieve this common goal.”
A probate judge must still approve the settlement, according to the document.
Mother of Tamir Rice says police threatened to arrest her
Published on Dec 8, 2014
The mother of the boy who had a toy gun and was fatally shot by police in Cleveland talks to the media.
This is obviously not a new news story. But so many young black lives have been snuffed out and Tamir was a child. I have a grandson who is twelve. I felt due to the recent killing of the young man in Texas, who was shot seven times in the back, it was time to remind Americans that we do not shoot first and ask questions later.
To the entire Rice family, I apologize for the lack of compassion and empathy on the part of the officers who had just killed Tamir. Rest in Peace, little one. You will never be forgotten. May your family’s grief heal with time and may you find peace.
I feel that Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio as well as Governor John Kasich should introduce legislation to make it a crime to manufacture or sell toy guns.
This is not the blog I planned for today. However, I lived in Cleveland, OH for twenty five years. My late husband was an engineer at Channel 8 TV where I got this breaking news.
Cleveland is a city that is trying hard to improve itself and it has in many ways. However, Cleveland is in Cuyahoga County and the FBI has unearthed corruption more than once. Elected officials are at this moment in time doing time for graft, corruption and a variety of other crimes.
I was still living there when Tamir Rice was shot to death. It was winter and there was snow on the ground. Tamir was a twelve year old child who was playing with a toy gun. As children have for generations, he was playing cops and robbers or cowboys or some scenario in his imagination that will we never know about.
A man saw Tamir and called 911. He saw a suspicious looking man. Then he gave the 911 operator a generic description, and mentioned that he thought that it might be a kid with a toy gun, he wasn’t sure. A cruiser was dispatched to the rec center, without being told the caller thought the gun might not be real. Tamir pulled out his play gun and within seconds he was dead. The cruiser pulled right up onto the sidewalk so they had to be able to see that he was a child. Even if he was tall for his age. Just as a side note, I have a thirteen year old grandson who is six foot two inches tall. But even a quick look at his face you can see he is a child. My grandson is white and Tamir was black.
The article and video tells us that Tamir’s mom is distressed. I guess so. I am distressed. I will never forget any of the black lives taken by police but Tamir will haunt me till I die. A cold day with some sun shining and a child goes out, not on the streets to cause trouble but to a recreation center to play. And before evening closes in on that playground, he is dead and his family will never be the same.
The media in Cleveland has hinted that this might be his own fault, now they are saying the cop was a rookie so it was unfortunate but he hadn’t had enough training yet. The 911 operator was a little at fault. So now, the decision has been made that no one is responsible for a black child out playing on a public playground and ending up dead.
This is my opinion, my take on what I heard and saw dozens of times on the media, I might be wrong but I don’t see that I am. What I see is a twelve year old child was murdered by the police for playing with a toy gun. Maybe they shouldn’t paint toy guns black. Maybe they should paint all toy guns yellow or orange or a neon color.
Maybe we should stop making toy guns. I think that is an excellent idea.
Maybe police should be taught to take more than 12 seconds before fatally shooting someone.
Maybe rookie officers need more training before going out into the streets.
Please give me your feedback as I am very interested in what the world thinks.
Namaste,
Barbara, the Idealisticrebel
CLEVELAND, Ohio (Fox8 News) — Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced Monday afternoon that a grand jury will not bring charges against the two officers involved in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.
Police were called to Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2014 after a 911 caller reported a male in the area waving a gun.
“There’s a guy with a pistol,” the 911 caller told dispatch. “The guy keeps pulling it out. It’s probably fake.”
The officers were not told the gun may be fake before they arrived on scene.
Officer Frank Garmback was driving the police cruiser and stopped next to a gazebo, putting him and Officer Timothy Loehmann between Rice and the rec center. Police say they ordered Rice to drop the weapon before Loehmann fired twice.
Tamir Rice had an airsoft pistol that police say looked like a real gun.
McGinty said from the information that was given to them, the officers were prepared to face a possible active shooter at the park.
He added that Loehmann had reason to fear for his life as he got out of the cruiser and saw a male with what appeared to be a gun.
“It would be irresponsible or unreasonable if the officer was required to wait and see if the gun was real,” he said.
McGinty said both Tamir Rice and Loehmann were both “no doubt frightened.” He said Tamir Rice likely intended to hand the airsoft gun over to the officers or show them it wasn’t real.
“But there was no way the officers would know that,” he said, adding they were seeing the situation from a different point of view.
McGinty added that the entire incident was a “perfect storm of human error.”
“The death of Tamir Rice was an absolute tragedy,” he said. “But it was not, by the law that binds us, a crime.”
McGinty said he called Tamir Rice’s mother to tell her the grand jury’s decision. Tamir Rice’s family released a statement through their attorney, saying they were “saddened and disappointed, but not surprised” by the decision. They are also renewing their request that the Department of Justice step in to conduct a “real investigation into this tragic shooting of a 12-year-old child.” Read more here.
“It was a rough call,” said McGinty, who recommended to the grand jury that no charges be filed.
McGinty said that there have been lessons learned already since the shooting of Tamir Rice.
“It should never happen again, and steps have been taken to make sure it is not,” he said.
McGinty said the city has since bought body cameras. Dash cameras are on the way for city police and suburban departments, he said.
“Now it is time for the community and all of us to start to heal,” said McGinty.
After McGinty spoke, Assistant Prosecutor Matt Meyer, chief of the Public Corruption Unit, went through the entire chain of events from that day.
Meyer said Rice spent several hours at the rec center the day of the shooting with the airsoft pistol.
Meyer said Tamir Rice got the airsoft pistol from a friend, who told investigators he’d removed the orange tip from the gun. The same friend warned Tamir of the “dangerousness” of using the gun, Meyer said.
Meyer showed a real gun vs. a replica of the airsoft pistol Rice had that day to show how similar they are.
Meyer emphasized that Tamir Rice was seen several times pulling the gun in and out of his waistband and pointing it at people. He also emphasized that the man who called 911 initially reporting his concerns about Tamir told dispatchers that the gun may not be real.
That information was not passed on to the officers, Meyer said.
After the shooting, Meyer said Loehmann told another officer who arrived on scene that “(Tamir) gave me no choice…there was nothing I could do.”
Meyer added that Loehmann was seen kicking the airsoft pistol onto the grass nearly 41seconds after the shooting. (emphasis added) He said that indicates Loehmann thought he was dealing with a real firearm.( Really? Is it standard operating procedures to move a weapon at a crime scene?– Barbara)
“This case is a culmination of a tragic confluence of events,” said Loehmann, emphasizing that officers were dealing with a boy who appeared to be much older than 12.
McGinty said at the press conference that he wants to call on legislature and manufacturers to not make toy guns that look real.
He left the press conference without answering questions. McGinty did say he may answer questions later in the day.
Following the announcement, Cleveland Police Union President Steve Loomis responded and said, “Nobody’s celebrating” but the union believes grand jury made the correct call.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the Rice family as well the officers that have been involved in this,” he said. “We have a ton of respect for the grand jury and not buying into the rhetoric and some of the nonsense that’s been going on out here. They made a thoughtful decision.”
Union lawyer Henry Hilow said, “We can’t look at this only through a two-second video.”
He believes the grand jury looked at the totality of the circumstances.
OFFICERS INVOLVED IN THE CASE:
Cleveland police hired Loehmann as an officer in March 2014. Previously, he was employed by the Independence Police Department, but resigned when he learned they had started the termination process.
His personnel file from Independence showed he was distracted and weepy during a state qualification course. It described Loehmann’s “dangerous loss of composure during live range training and his inability to manage personal stress.”
A deputy chief wrote Loehmann did not have the maturity to work in the department, and that “time, nor training” would correct his deficiencies.
Garmback, who was Loehmann’s training officer, started working for the city of Cleveland in 2008. He received a Medal of Heroism for an October 2011 incident involving a man with a gun.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office received the criminal investigation in June and released the following reports:
Here in Cleveland, we had a 12 year old boy shot to death Sunday. He was 12 years old. He was black and 12 years old. A man called 911 and said he wasn’t sure if a gun was a toy or real. When the police arrived, they did not determine if it was a toy. It was a very realistic looking toy. They never investigated and shot Tamir in the abdomen. He died at Metro Hospital. A civil law suit has been filed against the police department.
I am appalled that this child was killed. The police pulled up in their police car and shot Tamir. He was at the rec center with his sister and some other kids. He wasn’t a gang member, he was just playing with his toy. Now, just for the record, I would not give a child any gun. I do not believe in guns but I am in a minority in America.
The police need to stop being so quick to shoot young minorities. Toy guns should not look real. Cops should not shoot first and find out the facts afterwards. What if that was their child? What if their child’s blood pooled on a city sidewalk?
The federal government is involved in this investigation and they are not supporting the police. Please pray for the Rice family and all black American families because too many are grieving across the country.