Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced today that a county grand jury has declined to indict officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback in the 2014 shooting death of Tamir Rice. In a live press conference this afternoon, McGinty detailed the grand jury’s decision, claiming that based on enhanced video evidence, “it was indisputable that Tamir Rice was drawing his gun as the police slid toward him” in their car. McGinty also stated that Rice’s size made him look much older to the officers, which contributed to their fear, judged reasonable because “it would be [irresponsible] and unreasonable” to expect officers to “wait and see if the gun was real” even though Rice “either intended to hand it over to the officers or show them that it wasn’t a real gun.”
Tamir Rice was killed last year after Loehmann and Garmback responded to a 911 call about a person matching Rice’s description brandishing a weapon that the caller indicated to probably be fake. The officers were not fed this information and video from the scene shows them shooting and killing Rice in mere seconds after driving a squad car aggressively to his location.
This was the almost-inevitable outcome of this grand jury. McGinty, who has made a show of “transparency,” better described here as well-poisoning, chose to use and guide a grand jury to avoid indicting police officers. This is the same exact story told over and over again in almost every officer-involved killing that even goes past a complaint. Even more disheartening is the fact that McGinty used largely trumped-up sensationalist claims as a defense for officers who are trigger happy. Equally ridiculous is the fact that somehow even McGinty’s assertion that Rice’s death was a result of error that could be easily understood as gross criminal negligence at best could result in no charges.
While there are other civil legal avenues for Rice’s family to pursue, it seems that in the criminal court of law justice will continue to be denied for Tamir Rice.