No Indictment In The Tamir Rice Killing

I’m a little late with this post, but this story needs to be heard. Of all the police shootings the case of Tamir Rice – a twelve year old boy playing with a toy gun only to be shot dead by police in less than two seconds of their arrival on the scene – stands out. This incident was so straightforward that not indicting the officers sets an extremely dangerous precedent. Obviously, there’s no line to cross if you’re a police officer. Fire away.

But what really bothers me is how the police always seem to lie about what happened. Then the video tape is released. Let’s look at what the police claimed happened before the Tamir Rice video was released:

1. Police said that Tamir Rice was seated at a table with other people.

2. Police said that as they pulled up, they saw Tamir Rice grab the gun and put it in his waistband.

3. Police said they got out of the car and told Tamir Rice three times to put his hands up but he refused.

4. Police said that Tamir Rice then reached into his waistband and pulled out the gun, and was then shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann.

5. Timothy Loehmann was described as a rookie.

Now let’s look at what the video showed:

1. Tamir Rice as not seated at a table with other people.

2. Tamir Rice does not appear to grab the gun and put it in his waistband.

3. Police shot and killed Tamir in less than two seconds and could not have told him to put his hands up three times.

4. Tamir Rice absolutely does not pull the air gun out of his waistband and brandish it in any way. This fact is so crucial.

5. Timothy Loehmann was not a rookie, but had been an officer for over two years.

That’s 5 lies right there – lies that benefit the police officers. Toss in the lie about the police and the orange tip of the toy gun:

Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said one officer fired twice after the boy pulled the fake weapon — which was lacking the orange safety indicator usually found on the muzzle — from his waistband but had not pointed it at police. The boy did not make any verbal threats, but grabbed the replica handgun after being told to raise his hands, Deputy Chief Tomba said.

“That’s when the officer fired,” he said.

That’s another big lie, and one purposefully crafted to justify the killing. Watch the video. The officers never saw the tip of the toy gun.

TP has an excellent summary of what everyone should know about this case.

1. The officer fatally shot Tamir Rice less than 2 seconds after exiting his police car.

Less than two seconds, and yet they supposedly got out of the police car, saw Tamir Rice “seated at the table with other people” and that he “put his gun in his waistband.” Then they “ordered him 3 times to raise his hands but he refused”, instead he reached for his gun. All of these police claims supposedly happened in less than 2 seconds.

2. A state judge ruled there was probable cause to charge the officer who killed Tamir Rice with murder.

3. The officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice was deemed “unfit for duty” at the last police department where he worked.

Let’s look at the letter in the officer’s file:

Not that the Cleveland Police Department actually looked at his file. I bet the guy who wrote the above statement is saying, “I told you so.” That statement is beyond harsh. Can’t manage personal stress. Lacks maturity. Unable to follow instructions. Lack of commitment is disconcerting. Time and training won’t make him better. Clearly saying: Lochmann has no business being a cop.

4. Neither officer involved in the shooting administered first aid to Rice after he was shot.

Matt Meyer, one of the prosecutors, brushed off the officers inaction saying the department “did not train their officers to administer first aid to gun shot victims.” Meyer added that Loehmann was dealing with a sprained ankle he sustained during the incident and Garmback was occupied with Rice’s 14-year-old sister, who he tackled and handcuffed.

So… a police officer wouldn’t give first aid to police officer who was shot? Of course they would, so I guess some lives matter more. We know this so just say it. And Loehmann can’t function with an ankle he sprained himself due to his panic? Meanwhile, Garmback’s excuse for not administering first aid is that he was tackling and handcuffing a 14 year old girl? Talk about tough guys.

And this is where I see red. No way, no how would I ever be tackled and handcuffed running to my injured loved one. Yep, there are two Americas.

5. The officers refused to testify but the prosecutor submitted their written statements to the jury.

Oh, this one’s a doozy.

This unusual accommodation was highly beneficial to the officers, allowing them to present their version of the events without being subject to any questioning.

“Submitting self-serving, unsworn written statements — rather than appearing live before the grand jury so that the officers’ versions of events are subject to vigorous cross examination — shows that these officers know their story will not withstand real scrutiny,” Subodh Chandra, an attorney for the Rice family, said.

Of course their story would not withstand scrutiny. It’s already fallen apart due to their initial lies.

6. The prosecutor commissioned reports from two “experts” with a history of sympathy toward police, then released them to the media.

McGinty commissioned reports of two out-of-state experts with a history of sympathy toward police, Kimberly Crawford, a retired FBI agent, and S. Lamar Sims, a Colorado-based prosecutor. Crawford and Sims concluded the officers conduct was “reasonable.” These reports were presented to the grand jury and released to the media.

McGinty did not explain why he picked Crawford and Sims to produce reports.

Here’s more detail:

Three current and former law enforcement officials hired by McGinty found the shooting was “objectively reasonable” under the totality of the circumstances. They wrote that surveillance video of the shooting appeared to show Tamir’s hands moving toward his waistband as Loehmann got out of the car, which would have given the officer reason to believe Tamir was reaching for a gun.

But the reports that Rice’s family attorneys released on Saturday criticized the officers’ tactical response, saying their “reckless” approach to Tamir made them vulnerable to a threat, and that the video was too grainy to see if Tamir had reached for his waist.

The experts the Rice family commissioned, also former law enforcement officers, wrote that it was improper for McGinty’s experts to guess what the officers perceived. Because Loehmann and Garmback had not given formal statements about the shooting at the time, the experts did not know what the officers saw, the experts wrote.

7. Explaining his decision not to press for an indictment, the prosecutor said “We don’t second-guess police officers.”

And there you go.