Grand jury: No charges in Tamir Rice killing

A Cleveland grand jury declined Monday to bring charges in the death of Tamir Rice, a black youth with a toy gun who was shot by a white police officer 13 months ago.

"The outcome will not cheer anyone, nor should it," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said. He blamed the shooting on a "perfect storm" of human error and miscommunication.

The case is one of a number around the country that has prompted protesters to assert their belief that black people are treated unfairly in the U.S. justice system. On Monday evening in New York's Washington Square, in Greenwich Village, protesters gathered to voice their opposition to the decision.

Rice's family members released a heartfelt statement Monday evening saying they were devastated.

"After this investigation, which took over a year to unfold, and Prosecutor McGinty's mishandling of this case, we no longer trust the local criminal justice system, which we view as corrupt," read the statement, which accused McGinty of sabotaging the case and behaving like a defense attorney for the police. "I don't want my child to have died for nothing and I refuse to let his legacy or his name be ignored. We will continue to fight for justice for him, and for all families who must live with the pain that we live with."

Such cases also have prompted members of law enforcement to say they are feeling targeted. Steve Loomis, president of the Police Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, in Cleveland, said officers there were feeling relieved. "It's a great weight off their shoulders," he said. "It's been a year of some pretty serious name calling, some pretty serious charges, and that affects not only them but their families as well."

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The grand jury in the Rice case was asked to examine the actions of rookie officer Timothy Loehmann and his training officer, Frank Garmback, who responded to a report about a man with a gun near a recreation center. A dispatcher did not tell them the caller thought it was probably a child with a fake gun.

Tamir, 12, likely meant to show the officers his gun was a toy that shot plastic pellets, but there was no way the officers could have known that when they confronted him on a snowy day in November 2014, McGinty said. He said the dispatcher's failure to provide the information about the "fake gun" was key to the case.

McGinty said he agreed with the grand jury decision.

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"The actions of officers Garmback and Loehmann were not criminal," McGinty said. "The evidence did not indicate criminal conduct by police."

The family of Tamir blasted McGinty in a statement, saying it was "saddened and disappointed... but not surprised" by the grand jury decision.

“It has been clear for months now that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty was abusing and manipulating the grand jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment,” the family said in a statement released by their lawyers. “Even though video shows the police shooting Tamir in less than one second, Prosecutor McGinty hired so-called expert witnesses to try to exonerate the officers and tell the grand jury their conduct was reasonable and justified.”

Mayor Frank Jackson said that now that the criminal process has concluded, an administrative review would no begin.

"I want to say to the family, to the mother in particular, that we are sorry for their loss, that we know that it has been a long process, but we do not intend to add to whatever anxiety or agony that they feel in terms of the process," Jackson said.

A committee that would include representatives from the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office, the prosecutor's office and members of the public would review grand jury evidence and make a recommendation, Police Chief Calvin Williams said. That process could end in some sort of punishment for the officers involved, said Williams, who also offered words of condolence to Tamir Rice's family.

Gov. John Kasich called Tamir's death a "heartbreaking tragedy." But he urged the community not to "give in to anger and frustration and let it divide us."

The case was one in a series of police shootings nationwide that prompted Black Lives Matter protests.

Loehmann has said he ordered Tamir to show them his hands. He said Tamir reached for his waistband and that he saw a gun and fired to protect himself and Garmback. McGinty said the evidence supported Loehmann's explanation.

Two outside reviews requested by McGinty, from a retired FBI agent and a Denver prosecutor, determined Loehmann exercised a reasonable use of force because he had reason to perceive Tamir as a serious threat. Those were released in October.

Earlier this month, lawyers for Tamir's family released their own report. It found that Tamir was not reaching for his waistband, and that the officers rolled up and shot Tamir so fast he had no time to hear or respond to any orders they gave.

The family on Monday reiterated it's request that the Department of Justice investigate Tamir's death.

"The way prosecutor McGinty has mishandled the grand jury process has compounded the grief of this family," the statement said.