Officer Who Killed Tamir Rice Terminated From Force

Hat tip to Crustyolemothman

FILE – In this Dec. 1, 2014 file photo, Tomiko Shine holds up a picture of Tamir Rice during a protest in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

On Nov. 22, 2014, 12-year old Tamir Rice was in a park in Cleveland, Ohio with a toy gun.  A person called 911 and told the dispatcher that the person was “probably a juvenile” and the gun was “probably fake.”  The dispatcher did not relay that information over the radio.

Officers Frank Garmback and Rookie Timothy Loehmann arrived and Loehmann shot Tamir Rice, who later died from the gunshot wound.

The Cleveland police dispatcher who failed to relay all of the information was suspended for eight days.

There were filings in court where a judge found probable cause to arrest Garmback and Loehmann, however, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty did not charge the officers and a grand jury did not indict.

Tamir’s estate filed a federal lawsuit and the City of Cleveland settled for $6 million.

The Cleveland Police Union has filed suit against manufacturers of toy guns seeking to have them redesigned.

Today, May 30, 2017, Timothy Loehmann was fired from the Cleveland Police Department. His termination was for violations he committed in the course of his hiring process. 

Tamir Rice – Cleveland Settles Wrongful Death Case For $6 Million

On April 25, 2016, the City of Cleveland agreed to pay $6 million to the family of Tamir Rice.  Twelve year old Tamir was killed by officer Timothy Loehmann on November 22, 2014.

This case has been interesting and taken different turns in hopes that were betrayed.  For example, after the prosecutor declined to charge Loehmann, a group of citizens filed affidavits pursuant to Ohio law R.C. 2935.09.  Judge Ronald B. Adrine found that complaints should be filed with the prosecutor for probable cause against Loehmann for murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, negligent homicide and dereliction of duty.  Judge Adrine also found that complaints should be filed with prosecutors against Frank Garmback, Loehmann’s partner, for negligent homicide and dereliction of duty.

Prosecutor Tim McGinty took the case before an Ohio grand jury who decided not to indict Loehmann and Garmack.  McGinty called the killing of Tamir Rice a “perfect storm” citing human error, mistakes, and communications by all involved.  McGinty failed to mention communication problems were on the side of dispatch and the officers.

As we reported previously, Cleveland employees, including the dispatchers, have had their share of troubles, including some terminations.  In March of this year, voters let Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty know that they no longer want him in office.  McGinty’s opponent, Michael O’Malley, received more votes in the Democratic primary than McGinty.  Since there is no Republican opponent, O’Malley is expected to take office in January 2017.

Cleveland Employee Terminated For Facebook Comment Regarding Tamir Rice

Another one bites the dust.

In November 2014, 12-year old Tamir Rice was killed by Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann just seconds after Loehmann pulled up to him.  At the time of his death, Tamir was playing with a toy gun that was missing the orange warning tip that is supposed to identify it as a toy.   The man who called 911 said that the gun probably wasn’t real, and the person with it was a kid.  The dispatcher did not relay that however.

After he was shot by Loehmann, Tamir was reported to the hospital to be a man in his early 20’s.   Tamir’s family lived across the street from the park where he was killed.  His 14-year old sister ran out to come to his aid, and could have given officers facts about his age had she not been handcuffed and put in the back of the police car and threatened with arrest unless she remained silent.

Police dispatcher Constance Hollinger took the initial 9-1-1 call from a man outside the Cudell Recreation Center who said that someone was pointing a gun that was “probably fake” at people.  She passed it on to Beth Mandi, who dispatched the police to Cudell Commons on Nov. 22, when Tamir Rice was shot. Beth Mandi was fired from her first police dispatcher job in September 2008.  That same month, she was arrested and charged with bringing a gun to a bar.

Cleveland Police Officer Under Investigation for Facebook Post Attacking Tamir Rice’s Mother

The Washington Post

Matthew Cicero, a five-year veteran of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, accused the mother of the slain 12-year-old of being motivated by money.

Matthew Cicero, who has worked as a Cleveland Metropolitan School District resource officer for five years, posted the comments several days after prosecutors declined to indict officer Timothy Loehmann, who shot and killed Rice within seconds of encountering the 12-year-old at a public park in November 2014. Officers did not administer first aid to the boy, and he died the next day.

Cicero’s posts have been deleted along with his entire Facebook page, but were ABC-affiliate WEWS captured images. Cicero began his rant by blaming Samaria Rice of being a bad parent under an emoji that said “feeling annoyed,” according to screenshots posted by the station.

“Tamir rices momma just want money,” he wrote. “Lets make the proper changes……raise your kids not to play with fake guns stupid b**ch. All this media because the are notgetting what they want…… Again pleeeeze anyone who does not like what I post…..unfriendly me or block me your not worth my time”

Another Facebook user pushed back, asking Cicero when a 12-year-old playing with a toy gun became “a solid platform for the death penalty?”

“This officer regardless of race was negligent and should be brought to justice for negligent homicide,” a Facebook user named Wendy Smith said.

Tamir Rice – Justice NOT Served

There is a judge that gave an unbiased opinion on what the officers should and should not be charged with. I don’t think that the grand jury was presented with that opinion. Thanks for remembering Tamir.

idealisticrebel

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…

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Calling probe a ‘whitewash,’ Tamir Rice’s family asks Cleveland prosecutor to recuse himself – The Washington Post

 

By Wesley Lowery October 16 at 12:01

Tamir Rice

In an eight-page letter expressing “grave concern,” the family of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer last November, called for the local prosecutor who is overseeing the investigation of the two officers involved to step aside and appoint a special prosecutor.

The letter, obtained by The Washington Post and addressed to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty from Rice family attorney Jonathan Abady and his co-counsel, argues that McGinty has unnecessarily delayed the grand jury process and decried his decision last week to release two expert opinions on the shooting that suggested the shooting was justified.“

The delay in presenting this case to a grand jury, the decision to retain pro-police ‘experts’ and release their reports to the media on a Saturday night over a holiday weekend… and the obvious shortcomings of the reports themselves have contributed to make the Rice family feel that your office is not committed to securing an indictment in this case,” attorneys for Tamir Rice’s mother wrote in the letter dated Oct. 16.

TAMIR RICE KILLING FOUND “REASONABLE” BY PROSECUTOR! ( ARTICLE )

What angers me is that there are separation of powers, and prosecutors are replacing the judiciary as interpreters. Judges have defined “reasonable” and that is also included in jury instructions in cases of this nature. Now, how can a prosecutor who has found that killing 12-year old Tamir Rice was reasonable, is going to be able to indict a ham sandwich before the grand jury?

THE LEON KWASI CHRONICLES ✊🏿🇬🇭🗽🇺🇸

BY: LEON KWASI KUNTUO-ASARE

Two reports done by Cuyahoga County, Ohio Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty found the shooting of Tamir Rice, by police officer Timothy Loehmann to be a “reasonable ” shooting.

For those of you whom don’t remember, Tamir Rice was a 12 year old school kid, who was playing with a toy gun, when he was gunned down in approximately three seconds by , police officer Timothy Loehmann, who was responding to a 911 call about someone walking around with a gun. Ohio by the way is an open carry state.

A grand jury will still have to make the final decision if charges will be brought against Loehmann.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION USE LINK :

Two Reports Find Police Killing Of 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice ‘Reasonable,’ Family Attorney Calls Results ‘Whitewashed’ http://bit.ly/1VLJpiV

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Being color brave

Wonderful and written from the human heart of divine wisdom. You put many things in words that I’ve found difficult to express. Thank you, Deborah.

Investigation Report Released In The Death of Tamir Rice

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office today released the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department investigation into the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice on November 22, 2014.

Tamir Rice was shot outside the Cudell Recreation Center on Cleveland’s West Side on a Saturday afternoon and died at MetroHealth Medical Center the following day. He was fatally shot by a police officer responding to a 911 call that someone had a gun in the park. The caller told 911 dispatch that the gun was probably a fake, and the guy with it was a kid.  However, that information was not conveyed to the police by the dispatcher.

At the request of the Cleveland Division of Police, the Sheriff’s Department took over the use of deadly force investigation in January of this year. On June 3, Sheriff Clifford Pinkney delivered his investigative report to Prosecutor McGinty. The Sheriff’s Department was assisted in its work by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).

Cleveland Cops Complete Probe Into Shooting Death Of Tamir Rice, Grand Jury To Weigh Charges

DOJ Settles With Cleveland Over Police Conduct

Washington Post reports:

 

The Justice Department has reached a settlement with the city of Cleveland over the conduct of its police officers, according to a Justice official, the latest case in which the Obama administration has investigated excessive use of force and the violation of constitutional rights by a local department.

The settlement, amid the growing national debate about American policing, is expected to be announced early this week, the official said. It comes just days after a judge acquitted a Cleveland police officer for his role in the fatal shooting of two unarmed people in a car in 2012 after officers thought the sound of the car backfiring was gunshots.

The Justice Department in December issued a scathing report that accused the Cleveland Police Department of illegally using deadly force against citizens. The Justice Department’s civil rights division found that the Cleveland police engaged in a “pattern or practice” of unnecessary force — including shooting residents, striking them in the head and spraying them with chemicals.

In one incident, an officer used a stun gun on “a suicidal, deaf man who committed no crime, posed minimal risk to officers and may not have understood officers’ commands.”

The police were also accused of repeatedly punching in the face a handcuffed 13-year-old boy who had been arrested for shoplifting.

The Cleveland report was released the month after a 12-year-old African American boy, Tamir Rice, was fatally shot by a white Cleveland police officer. Cleveland officers had responded to a 911 call that reported a person pointing a gun. It turned out to be a toy pistol.

A Justice Department spokeswoman would not comment on the settlement, which was first reported on the Web site of the New York Times.

When last year’s report about Cleveland was released, then-Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. traveled to the city to announce the findings and said the Justice Department and the city had agreed to establish an independent monitor who would oversee police reforms. The changes will include better training and better supervision of officers, Holder said.

There have been more than 20 investigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in the past 5 years. The investigations have resulted in 15 agreements with law enforcement agencies, including New Orleans and Albuquerque.  The Justice Department recently opened an investigation of the Baltimore police department.

UPDATE

Here is the consent decree that the Cleveland police department entered into with the government.

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On a separate matter, I will be off and on today — probably offline more than on.  Tomorrow, I might reblog some articles and unless something comes up that is really interesting, that might be the case for several days until I catch-up on some personal matters and begin feeling better.

Remember to keep the Golden Rule. 

Tamir Rice’s Autopsy Brings Home Life and Death

Tamir Rice

Tamir Rice is the 12 year old who was shot and killed in Ohio by a cop who fired his gun in less than 2 seconds of arriving on scene.

A man had called 911 and told dispatch that a guy was in the park who might be a juvenile had a gun that might have been fake, but it was making him nervous.  Dispatch put out the call without saying it could be a juvenile and could be a toy gun.

Tamir did not die right away.  Reports have it that the EMT’s arrived about 4 minutes after Tamir was shot.  He was taken to the hospital where he died the next day.

Tamir’s autopsy was released today.  It makes the reality of life and death profound.  One bullet can end a life. One bullet can cause suffering before ending a life.

One bullet.