Demonstrators block Public Square November 25, 2014, in Cleveland, during a protest over the police shooting of Tamir Rice.
A grand jury for weeks had been hearing testimony on the shooting of Tamir Rice within seconds of police arriving at a park next to a Cleveland recreation center in response to reports of a suspect with a gun. Rice died the next day.
Rice was playing with a replica handgun outside a recreation center when Officer Timothy Loehmann shot him twice within seconds of reaching the park in a squad car driven by his partner, Frank Garmback.
In a press conference on Monday, Ohio prosecutor Timothy McGinty appeared to place part of the blame on Tamir himself, noting that Tamir "looked much older" and "had been warned" that the pellet gun he was holding "might get him into trouble" that day.
He added that "We don't second guess police officers," and "it's clear the officers were not criminal."
"We explained to Tamir Rice's mother that even in a situation as tragic as the death of her son, the state must be able to show that the police acted outside their constitutional boundaries," McGinty said. "The evidence did not indicate criminal conduct by police."
McGinty noted that the decision was "also my recommendation, and that of my office."
"It is now indisputable that Tamir was drawing a gun from his waist," McGinty said. "At the point when Tamir and the rookie officer came together, both Tamir and the officer were no doubt frightened."
"After they received the call, the police were prepared to face an active shooter in a neighborhood with a history of violence," McGinty said. "The police officer had reason to fear for his life."
He added: "It would be unresponsible and unreasonable for the police officer to wait and see if the gun was real" before shooting.
Timothy McGinty displays a replica of the toy gun used by Tamir Rice next to a real gun in order to show how "difficult" they are to tell apart.
Attorneys for Rice's family, which has filed a civil lawsuit over his death, released the following statement shortly after McGinty's press conference:
"Tamir's family is saddened and disappointed by this outcome - but not surprised. 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 statement continued: "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. It is unheard of, and highly improper, for a prosecutor to hire 'experts' to try to exonerate the targets of a grand jury investigation."
Rice's family renewed its calls for the Justice Department to launch an independent investigation into "this tragic shooting of a 12-year-old child."
Ohio governor and 2016 Republican presidential candidate John Kasich released a statement calling Rice's death "a heartbreaking tragedy" while cautioning citizens to remain calm.
"We all lose...if we give in to anger and frustration and let it divide us," the statement read. "When we are strong enough together to turn frustration into progress we take another step up the higher path."
Screenshot/YouTube
Timothy McGinty.
In a statement read to the grand jury and released by prosecutors, Loehmann said he yelled for Rice to show his hands and saw him pull a gun from his waistband before firing.
"I started to open the door and yelled continuously, 'Show me your hands' as loud as I could," Loehmann said in his statement, according to the Washington Post.
"I kept my eyes on the suspect the entire time. I was fixed on his waistband and hand area," Loehmann said. "I was trained to keep my eyes on his hands because 'hands may kill.'"
"I saw the weapon in his hand coming out of his waistband," he wrote. "The threat to my partner and myself was real and active."
Loehmann and Garmback also said in their statements they were concerned the armed suspect might enter the recreation center.
McGinty has released expert reports on the shooting and statements from the two officers were read to the grand jury. McGinty said he released the reports along with security video of the shooting to bring transparency to the process.