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| Video, names released in fatal police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland | Video, names released in fatal police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Cleveland police have released the names of the two officers involved in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy along with a surveillance video of the incident showing a rookie officer firing shots within seconds of leaving his police car. | Cleveland police have released the names of the two officers involved in the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy along with a surveillance video of the incident showing a rookie officer firing shots within seconds of leaving his police car. |
| Timothy Loehmann, 26, and Frank Garmback, 46, responded to a 911 call Saturday about a young black male wielding a gun in a park, which led to Loehmann shooting and killing Tamir Rice, 12. He died Sunday after being shot in the torso while holding what turned out to be a BB gun. Loehmann fired the fatal shot from about 10 feet away. | Timothy Loehmann, 26, and Frank Garmback, 46, responded to a 911 call Saturday about a young black male wielding a gun in a park, which led to Loehmann shooting and killing Tamir Rice, 12. He died Sunday after being shot in the torso while holding what turned out to be a BB gun. Loehmann fired the fatal shot from about 10 feet away. |
| Attorneys for the boy’s family watched the video earlier this week, and the family eventually watched it as well before asking authorities to release the full footage. | Attorneys for the boy’s family watched the video earlier this week, and the family eventually watched it as well before asking authorities to release the full footage. |
| “The release of this video is in no means an effort to try and explain the actions of the division of police or of the young man,” Deputy Police Chief Edward Tomba said at a news conference Wednesday — hours after about 200 people protesting the fatal shooting blocked traffic on a busy Cleveland street. “We are honoring the wishes of the family in releasing this and also in the spirit of being open and fair with our community.” | “The release of this video is in no means an effort to try and explain the actions of the division of police or of the young man,” Deputy Police Chief Edward Tomba said at a news conference Wednesday — hours after about 200 people protesting the fatal shooting blocked traffic on a busy Cleveland street. “We are honoring the wishes of the family in releasing this and also in the spirit of being open and fair with our community.” |
| Loehmann has been a Cleveland police officer since March, and Garmback joined the force in February 2008. Both are on administrative leave, per department policy. Loehmann is white, according to public records. Cleveland police did not immediately respond to a request to identify Garmback’s race. | Loehmann has been a Cleveland police officer since March, and Garmback joined the force in February 2008. Both are on administrative leave, per department policy. Loehmann is white, according to public records. Cleveland police did not immediately respond to a request to identify Garmback’s race. |
| According to police, witnesses reported seeing Tamir waving a gun and pointing it at people in a park. During Wednesday’s press conference, authorities played a 911 call in which a man tells a dispatcher “there’s a guy in here with a pistol, pointing it at everybody.” The caller says the gun is “probably fake” and then says: “I don’t know if it’s real or not.” He describes Tamir as “probably a juvenile.” | |
| Information about the gun possibly being fake wasn’t mentioned to the officers, according to a dispatch recording that was played Wednesday. | Information about the gun possibly being fake wasn’t mentioned to the officers, according to a dispatch recording that was played Wednesday. |
| A grainy video shows the caller sitting under a park gazebo while Tamir walks around the park, at times swinging the gun in his hands. He also points the gun in a ready-to-shoot motion. In the video, which does not have audio, the caller is seeing leaving as Tamir sits under a gazebo. | |
| A police cruiser eventually arrives. Tomba said on Wednesday that Loehmann shouted through his passenger-side car door three times for Tamir to show his hands as he approached the car. Loehmann shot Tamir within two seconds of exiting the patrol car. | A police cruiser eventually arrives. Tomba said on Wednesday that Loehmann shouted through his passenger-side car door three times for Tamir to show his hands as he approached the car. Loehmann shot Tamir within two seconds of exiting the patrol car. |
| Police had earlier said two shots were fired by a single officer, and and that Tamir had reached into his waistband when Loehmann shouted the commands. | Police had earlier said two shots were fired by a single officer, and and that Tamir had reached into his waistband when Loehmann shouted the commands. |
| The gun turned out to be an Airsoft gun. Authorities had said it resembled a semiautomatic handgun and lacked the orange safety marker intended to signal that it’s a fake. | The gun turned out to be an Airsoft gun. Authorities had said it resembled a semiautomatic handgun and lacked the orange safety marker intended to signal that it’s a fake. |
| Police also played the dispatch call one of the officers made after the shooting. “Shots fired, male down, um, black male, maybe 20,” one of the officers radioed in. “Black hand gun.” | Police also played the dispatch call one of the officers made after the shooting. “Shots fired, male down, um, black male, maybe 20,” one of the officers radioed in. “Black hand gun.” |
| Within four minutes of the shooting, two other law enforcement officials arrived, and one performed first aid on Tamir, Tomba said. Minutes later, an ambulance arrived. | Within four minutes of the shooting, two other law enforcement officials arrived, and one performed first aid on Tamir, Tomba said. Minutes later, an ambulance arrived. |
| The investigation into the shooting continues and police are still looking for witnesses. The officers have already given statements. The case will be sent to a grand jury for possible charges, according to Reuters. | The investigation into the shooting continues and police are still looking for witnesses. The officers have already given statements. The case will be sent to a grand jury for possible charges, according to Reuters. |
| In a statement earlier this week, Tamir’s family said, “While we request the release of the complete video, we also ask for the media to give our family privacy as we continue to grieve and learn about what happened.” | |
| “We feel he did not deserve to be taken away from us,” the statement read. “We feel the actions of the patrol officer who took our son’s life must be made public.” | “We feel he did not deserve to be taken away from us,” the statement read. “We feel the actions of the patrol officer who took our son’s life must be made public.” |
| Chief Calvin Williams requested the public respect the highly-sensitive nature of the video. “This is a 12-year-old boy. We want people to view this video with that in mind,” he said Wednesday. | Chief Calvin Williams requested the public respect the highly-sensitive nature of the video. “This is a 12-year-old boy. We want people to view this video with that in mind,” he said Wednesday. |
| As people around the country protested a grand jury’s decision in the Darren Wilson case in Ferguson, Mo., demonstrations in Cleveland centered around Tamir’s death. On Tuesday night, 200 protesters took to a city square and spilled into the street, the Plain Dealer reported. | As people around the country protested a grand jury’s decision in the Darren Wilson case in Ferguson, Mo., demonstrations in Cleveland centered around Tamir’s death. On Tuesday night, 200 protesters took to a city square and spilled into the street, the Plain Dealer reported. |
| The protests remained peaceful, the paper reported. | The protests remained peaceful, the paper reported. |
| Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said Monday that Tamir’s death wasn’t connected to what was happening in Ferguson. “We’re attempting to be as transparent as we can at this time in order for people to know we do care. This hurts us,” Jackson said, the Wall Street Journal reported. | Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said Monday that Tamir’s death wasn’t connected to what was happening in Ferguson. “We’re attempting to be as transparent as we can at this time in order for people to know we do care. This hurts us,” Jackson said, the Wall Street Journal reported. |
| [Alice Crites contributed to this post, which has been updated.] | [Alice Crites contributed to this post, which has been updated.] |