The mother of a 12-year-old Cleveland boy shot dead by police says her family is worried that no one will be held accountable for her son’s death, as her attorneys questioned why it took six weeks for the city to transfer an investigation into the shooting to county sheriffs.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the sheriff, or the [district attorney],” said Benjamin Crump, one of the Rice family’s attorneys. “What we really want to know at the end of the day is are they going to hold the killer of their child accountable, or are they going to sweep another death of a young person of color under the rug?”
City police were investigating Tamir Rice’s death until Sunday when the city’s mayor announced the transfer.
Rice was shot in the abdomen by Cleveland police in November. Officers were responding to a 911 call where a caller claimed a “guy” with a gun that was “probably fake” was scaring people. It was later revealed that the officer who shot Rice, Timothy Loehmann, was dismissed from another Ohio police department for “dismal” handgun performance.
Surveillance camera footage of the incident shows a patrol vehicle speeding on to the playground, and one officer appears to shoot Rice almost as soon as the car’s door opens, within seconds of arrival. Rice falls to the ground, and the firing officer runs to duck behind the opposite side of the car.
City police have been collecting evidence on the shooting and many expected the state to investigate Rice’s death, as it had in previous police shootings in Cleveland, but Mayor Frank Jackson told reporters on Sunday that he didn’t trust the state to conduct the investigation. Instead, he asked the Cuyahoga County sheriff to take over.
“That’s part of our attempt to demonstrate transparency and have an outcome that will not be tainted by people believing that the police department is investigating itself,” Jackson said Sunday in an interview with the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
But attorney Walter Madison, who is also representing the Rice family, questioned whether the process was truly transparent.
“As part of this new investigation, or transfer of investigation, [we] want to know what has been done in those six weeks and three days [since Rice’s death],” asked Madison. “I believe this family is entitled to answers.”
Members of the Rice family, who stood behind attorneys at the press conference, issued just one statement. Rice’s mother Samaria said “it doesn’t matter” if the sheriff or prosecutor investigate: “What matters is, and what our family is worried about, is are they going to be held accountable for our son’s murder?”
Cleveland’s Use of Deadly Force Investigation Team had 90 days to complete the investigation and turn evidence over to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Timothy McGinty, according to Northeast Ohio Media Group. Attorneys for the family made statements indicating they still believe this timeline is in place.
The family filed suit against the city in December, claiming the two officers involved “acted unreasonably, recklessly and with deliberate indifference to the safety and rights”, according to the Plain Dealer.
