Federal prosecutors said in late 2020 they would not bring charges against the two police officers involved
Demonstrators protest over the police shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland on 25 November 2014. Photograph: Tony Dejak/AP
Demonstrators protest over the police shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland on 25 November 2014. Photograph: Tony Dejak/AP
AssociatedPress
Fri 16 Apr 2021 10.22 EDT
Last modified on Fri 16 Apr 2021 11.09 EDT
The family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed by Cleveland police in 2014, asked the justice department (DoJ) on Friday to reopen the case into his death after it was closed in the waning weeks of the Trump administration.
WASHINGTON – The family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice is asking the Justice Department to reopen its investigation into the boy s 2014 shooting and to convene a grand jury that would consider charges against the Cleveland police officers involved in his death.
Drawing from President Joe Biden s promise to reinvigorate investigations of police actions and Attorney General Merrick Garland s pledge to prioritize civil rights, Rice s family is asking the Justice Department to revisit evidence that the previous administration deemed insufficient to warrant prosecution. fdg The election of President Biden, your appointment, and your commitment to the rule of law, racial justice, and police reform give Tamir s family hope that the chance for accountability is not lost forever, according to a letter the Rice family s lawyers sent to Garland Friday.
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The family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot and killed by Cleveland police in 2014, asked the Justice Department on Friday to reopen the case into his death after it was closed in the waning weeks of the Trump administration.
In late 2020, federal prosecutors said they would not bring charges against the two police officers involved, saying video of the shooting was of too poor a quality for them to conclusively establish what had happened. There were no other prosecutions in the case. In December 2015, a grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the officers.
Adam Toledo appears to have dropped a handgun and started raising his hands less than a second before a Chicago police officer shot and killed him last month, body-camera footage shows.
The family’s request puts pressure on Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland and the Biden administration to begin publicly delivering on a commitment to combat racial discrimination in policing. Garland has said that the nation doesn’t “yet have equal justice.” But reopening the case could be complicated.
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“The election of President Biden, your appointment, and your commitment to the rule of law, racial justice, and police reform give Tamir’s family hope that the chance for accountability is not lost forever,” the family said in its letter.
Family of Tamir Rice pleads with DOJ to reopen probe into his death thehill.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehill.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.