Shooting of Tamir Rice

Time	c. 3:30 p.m.
Date	November 22, 2014
Location	Cudell Recreation Center, Cleveland,Ohio, United States
Participants	Tamir Rice (fatally shot) Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback (police officers)
Deaths	Tamir Rice
Litigation	Lawsuit filed by Rice's family against the two officers and the city of Cleveland

The shooting of Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old African American boy, occurred on November 22, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio. Two police officers, 26-year-old Timothy Loehmann and 46-year-old Frank Garmback, responded after receiving reports of a boy armed with a gun described as "probably fake", and brandishing it at people in a city park.^[1][2] The officers reported that during the confrontation, Rice reached towards a gun in his waistband. Loehmann fired two shots within two seconds of arriving on the scene, hitting Rice once in the torso.^[1][3] Rice's "gun" was later found to be a toy airsoft gun.^[4][5] Rice died on the day after the shooting.^[6]

In the aftermath of the shooting, it was reported that Loehmann had been deemed an emotionally unstable recruit and unfit for duty in his previous job as a policeman in Independence, Ohio.^[7]

The incident received national and international coverage, in part due to the time of its occurrence; the recent police shooting of Michael Brown inFerguson, Missouri and the subsequent unrest had attracted public attention.

The shooting

In a 9-1-1 (emergency telephone number) call, a caller, who was sitting in a nearby gazebo, reported that someone, possibly a juvenile, was pointing "a pistol" at random people in the Cudell Recreation Center, and clarified twice that the gun was "probably fake".^[8] According to police spokesmen, it was unclear if that information was relayed to Loehmann and Garmback. It was later revealed that the information was not relayed to the officers, as the dispatcher did not elaborate beyond referencing "a gun".^[4][9] Officers were dispatched to the park at around 3:30 p.m.^[8] The caller then left the gazebo, and Rice sat down in it sometime later.^[9]

According to Loehmann and Garmback, they arrived at the park and approached Rice, ordering him to hold up his hands; Rice reached in his waistband and grasped a gun, prompting one of the officers to fire two shots, fatally hitting Rice once in the torso. The entire incident happened within two seconds.^[10] The officers later found that the gun was an airsoft gun, which are air gun replicas of real guns that can shoot non-lethal plastic, ceramic, or metallic pellets, with its orange safety tip removed. Deputy Chief Tomba stated that Rice did not threaten or point the airsoft gun at Loehmann and Garmback.^[4][5][11] Rice passed away the day after the shooting at MetroHealth Medical Center. The medical examiner clarified the cause of death as being a gunshot wound to the torso, with injuries to major vessels, intestines, and the pelvis.^[6]

A surveillance video without audio of the shooting was released by police on November 26 after pressure from the public and Rice's family.^[12] It showed Rice pacing around the park, occasionally extending his right arm with what appears to be a gun in his hand, talking on a cellphone, and sitting at a picnic table in a gazebo. The video shows the officers' patrol car pulling up beside the gazebo. Rice then appears to move his right hand toward his waist, prompting Loehmann, to get out of the patrol car and shoot him from a distance of less than ten feet, within two seconds.^[8][9][13] Reportedly, neither Loehmann or Garmback administered first aid to Rice after the shooting.^[14] Almost four minutes later, a police detective and an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the latter of whom was working a bank robbery detail nearby, arrived on the scene and treated Rice. Another three minutes later, paramedics arrived and took Rice to MetroHealth Medical Center.^[15][16][17]

Police officers involved

In the aftermath of the shooting, media outlets reported on the background of the police officers involved.

Timothy Loehmann

Loehmann, who was identified as having fired the shots that killed Rice, joined Cleveland's police force in March 2014. Previously, he spent five months in 2012 with the police department inIndependence, Ohio, about 13 miles south of Cleveland, four of which were spent in the police academy. According to his personnel records, released by the city of Independence in the aftermath of the shooting, his supervisors described him as an emotionally unstable recruit with a demonstrable "lack of maturity" and an "inability to perform basic functions as instructed", specifically citing an incident that occurred during a weapons training exercise.^[7]

An internal memo sent by Independence Police Department's deputy chief to the city's human resources manager described Loheman as visibly "distracted and weepy" during gun range training and exhibiting a dismal performance in handling his gun, calling the incident a "dangerous loss of composure". The memo concluded, "Individually, these events would not be considered major situations, but when taken together they show a pattern of a lack of maturity, indiscretion and not following instructions, I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct these deficiencies."^[7][18]

Frank Garmback

Garmback, who was driving the police cruiser, has been a police officer in the city of Cleveland since 2008. In 2014, Cleveland paid US$100,000 to settle an excessive force lawsuit brought against him by a local woman after Garmback, according to the lawsuit, "rushed and placed her in a chokehold, tackled her to the ground, twisted her wrist and began hitting her body" with "such reckless, wanton and willful excessive use of force proximately caused bodily injury". The woman had called the police to report a car blocking her driveway.^[19] The settlement does not appear in Garmback's personnel file.^[20]

Aftermath

Investigation

The Cleveland Police Department received statements from both Loehmann and Garmback. They are now currently looking for additional witnesses to the shooting, including a man who was recorded walking with Rice in the park before the shooting. Their results will be presented to a grand jury for possible charges.^[17]

Legal proceedings

On November 24, Cleveland officials announced that a grand jury would hear the case.^[21] They will decide whether either Loehmann or Garmback will be charged with Rice's death.^[9] Both officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave.^[22]

On December 5, Rice's family filed a wrongful death claim against Loehmann, Garmback, and the city of Cleveland in the United States District Court Northern District of Ohio. The eight-page claim accused Loehmann and Garmback of acting "unreasonably, negligently [and] recklessly" and that "[h]ad the defendant officers properly approached Tamir and properly investigated his possession of the replica gun they would undoubtedly have determined ... that the gun was fake and that the subject was a juvenile". It also accused the city of Cleveland for failing to properly train both officers, as well as failing to learn about the Independence city internal memo made of Loehmann.^[23][24][25]

Protests

In the wake of the shooting, protests and public outcry broke out in Cleveland, although they were relatively minor. However, on November 25, 2014, a day after a grand jury decision to not indict the police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, the Cleveland protests became more prominent. That day, about 200 protesters marched from Public Square to the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, causing the latter to be shut down temporarily.^[12][17] Rice's family pleaded with the protesters to remain peaceful in their activities, saying, "Again, we ask for the community to remain calm. Please protest peacefully and responsibly."^[11]

On December 5, Ohio Governor John Kasich established a task force to address community-police relations in response to Rice's shooting and other similar incidents.^[26]

Press coverage

The Northeast Ohio Media Group was criticized for publishing a news story on Rice's parents' criminal records.^[27][28]

A political cartoon by Matt Bors shows Rice being instructed on how not to be shot by police when holding a gun, by wearing a "Don't Tread on Me" T-shirt, a camouflage hat, and by turning white.^[29]

Funeral service of Rice

On December 3, Rice was buried. A morning service was held at the Mount Sinai Baptist Church, with about 250 people in attendance. There, family members criticized Loehmann for acting too quickly in Rice's shooting.^[30]

See also

• Shooting of Andy Lopez

References

External links

• Video footage of the shooting