By Elaine Magliaro
The death of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old Cleveland boy who was fatally shot by a police officer in November, has been ruled a homicide. According to a Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report that was released on Friday, Rice was struck once in the abdomen. The report said that “Rice sustained a single wound to the left side of his abdomen that traveled from front to back and lodged in his pelvis.”
On November 22nd, police responded “to a call of a suspect waving a handgun around in a Cleveland park.” Two officers arrived on the scene. “Within two seconds of exiting the car, Officer Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir…” Authorities said that the officer who shot the youngster mistook the child’s air gun for a real firearm. “The weapon turned out to be a replica that typically fires plastic pellets.” Rice died the following day.
The shooting of Tamir Rice is now under investigation. The boy’s family has filed a lawsuit against the two officers who responded to the call and the city over his death.
CNN:
The homicide finding indicates that Tamir was killed by the police officer, rather than dying accidentally or by natural causes or by suicide. Medical examiners’ homicide findings make no comment on whether the killing constitutes a crime.
SOURCES
Tamir Rice Death Declared Homicide In Newly Released Autopsy (Huffington Post)
Cleveland police’s fatal shooting of Tamir Rice ruled a homicide (CNN)
FURTHER READING
In the Case of Tamir Rice, the Twelve-Year-Old Boy Killed by a Policeman in Cleveland: The Officer Who Shot Him Was Found Unfit for Duty in 2012 (Flowers for Socrates)
Nicole Plyler Fisk
Gene Howington
FFS Guest Blogger
Joy of Fishes
Chuck Stanley
shortfinals
Terry Welshans
ann li-summers
wordcloud9
Flowers For Socrates 
I guess one prosecution out of thousands,
Is better than none!
Let’s keep terminology within the lines of the legal definitions. Murder and manslaughter are criminal forms of homicide.
The legal definition of homicide is, “The killing of one human being by another human being.”
Not all homicides are crimes, such as killing in self defense, unintentional accident, or in the course of legal authorization. The latter may include wartime, or to prevent a deadly crime from taking place. Murder and manslaughter are both criminal forms of homicides.
Our definition of homicide comes from English Common Law, going back centuries. Originally, the term was conceived in two forms: Felonious homicide and non-felonious homicide. The difference is whether there was criminal intent (mens rea). More details at the link below.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/homicide-murder-manslaughter-32637.html
So, Chuck, you mean to say, even this one may not be okay;
justice wise?
Was Brown,s ruled the same?
Or was it demonic suicide by cop?
The horror gets worse since I read that while her brother was bleeding to death, his sister was arrested, and handcuffed in the back of the police car. The cops simply shot him and were going to let him die, but other cops got there first and did what the crooked cops refused to do. As far as I am concerned, their actions constitute murder. They need to face capital punishment of life in prison with no parole.
A frgn MEN ..randyjet!
Example of real pigs;
and I always despised that word.
Randy,
Had not heard that part. There have been a number of instances where officers on the scene have attempted (or succeeded) in preventing first aid or even medical attention.
A fire department Captain had parked the big fire truck at the scene of an accident, blocking the right lane of traffic, so as to give the EMT crew safety space to work. Police officer orders the fire truck moved because it was blocking that lane of traffic. The Captain refused–he is obligated to provide a safety zone for his EMT crew. Officer arrests the Captain for refusing to obey his order. Case was dismissed of course. I never learned if the officer was disciplined or not. There is a video of that incident on either YouTube or LiveLeak.
We have never had any incidents even remotely like that around here. On the other hand, department heads are not hesitant about discipline, or even arresting officers. We just had an officer in a neighboring jurisdiction arrested for assault day before yesterday. I blame these kinds of incidents more on the agency leadership than individual officers. It is the department which is in charge of training and discipline. Failures in either of those areas lead to the kinds of incidents we keep seeing in the news.
Correct… from the top down
“. The cops simply shot him and were going to let him die, but other cops got there first and did what the crooked cops refused to do.”
I cannot prove it of course, but I think there are some that believe if an officer shoots a citizen it is simpler and better that they let the citizen die their rather than survive as a possible witness against them.
Bfm,
And I believe your.premise holds much water as per the Mike Brown case.
Fits many plausible scenarios
Randy,
I read that it was FBI agent or agents who were in the area who tried to help the child. So sad.
I think this is the right decision, now lets see if the DA has the balls to go through with the prosecution.
According to the PBA head who demanded an apology from the pro team who “insulted” the cops of Cleveland, it has been called a good shoot.
But to curl your hair further:
Click to access 13-604_ec8f.pdf
Seems that the cops can be wrong about the law and still have probable cause.
Loehmann – rookie …. Garmback – trainer
‘A quick dig into Loehmann’s past with the Independence Police Department may have stopped Cleveland from giving him a badge and a gun.
“He could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal,” Independence Deputy Chief Jim Polak said in letter that recommends firing Loehmann. “I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct the deficiencies.”
Loehmann was emotionally immature and circumvented direction, Polak said.
“He often feels that when told to do something, that those instructions are optional and that he can manipulate them if he so feels it can better serve him.”
……
Eight months after hiring Loehmann, Cleveland Police partnered him with a training officer accused of police brutality. The city paid out $100,000 in March to settle a lawsuit in which Garmback, 46, was accused of tackling, choking and beating a woman while on duty in 2010.
In 2011, Cleveland Police awarded Garmback the Medal of Heroism for shooting a man during a confrontation with robbery suspects.
On the day Tamir was killed, Garmback was assigned to coach Loehmann and serve as a police role model as part of the rookie officer’s probationary introduction to police work.
Police spokesmen would not say what qualified Garmback to be a field training officer. They provided a vague police policy that did not answer the question.
……
Garmback put lives at risk when he raced across the recreation center’s landscaping and stopped within feet of Tamir, all but eliminating the officers’ time to react to a threat.
“The tactics were very poor,” David Thomas, senior research fellow for the Police Foundation, told NEOMG last week. “If the driver would have stopped a distance away so that the primary officer wasn’t right there to get involved in shooting, it may have played out differently.”
The Justice Department found too many Cleveland police officers fail to deescalate situations “either because they do not know how, or because they do not have an adequate understanding of the importance of deescalating encounters before resorting to force whenever possible.”
Garmback should have stopped a safe distance from Tamir, giving both officers time to take cover and assess the level of danger, experts told NEOMG.
……
As Garmback raced toward Tamir, Loehmann ordered Tamir three times to show his hands, according to the police account of the incident. The commands were given through the cruiser’s passenger side door Loehmann cracked open as they rushed the boy.
Tamir reached for his waistband and Loehmann sprang out of the passenger seat and immediately opened fire. Tamir fell to the ground before Garmback left the cruiser.
It is unclear if Tamir heard or understood the commands, which could have been given through an external megaphone, if the car was so equipped.
The division’s use-of-force policy lacks guidance on verbal command methods. The Justice Department took issue with the entire document.
“The policy in place at the time of our investigation was confusing, at times conflicted with the law, and did not provide sufficient guidance to officers,” according to the Justice Department letter. “Many officers reported to us that they did not understand the policy and, more generally, did not understand what level of force they were permitted to use under what circumstance.”
……
After using deadly force, Loehmann and Garmback let Tamir bleed for four minutes until an FBI agent on assignment in the area arrived at the scene and delivered first aid, police said.
Again, division’s meager use-of-force policy provides no clear guidance on the matter.
“Officers shall obtain necessary medical assistance for persons appearing to be injured or complaining of an injury,” the policy states.
Before calling for medical assistance, police are to notify their supervisor of the use of force, according to the policy.
Immediate first aid may have given Tamir a chance to live.”‘
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/12/tamir_rice_killing_caused_by_c.html
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/12/15/3603521/cleveland-police-union/
Part of the reason Cleveland officials have so much trouble clearing out the “culture of violence” that besets its Police Department.
Cleveland police union defends fired cop, saying others did far worse
‘”This is just one of many cases where the right actions by the city were taken to terminate or discipline (an officer) and the courts/arbitrators have overturned the decision,” Williams said.’
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/12/cleveland_police_union_defends.html#incart_most-read
Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department to take over Tamir Rice investigation
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/cuyahoga_county_sheriffs_depar.html#incart_m-rpt-1
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson says he didn’t trust the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to handle Tamir Rice investigation
http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2015/01/cleveland_mayor_frank_jackson_43.html#incart_related_stories
Mayor Frank Jackson will not swear-in former East Cleveland cop who lost job for excessive force
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/mayor_frank_jackson_will_not_s.html#incart_m-rpt-1
Blouise,
Thanks for the links!
Blouise,
Officer Who Shot 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Failed Sheriff Department Exam
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/officer-tamir-rice-failed-exam-sheriff-deputy
Excerpt:
The Cleveland police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice had previously failed the written exam to be a deputy in the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, according to documents reviewed by the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
Timothy Loehmann took the exam in September 2013 and scored a 46 percent on the cognitive exam administered by the department. The department considers a 70 percent a passing score.
Loehmann did pass the physical exam, but the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department did not ultimately accept his application to be a deputy sheriff, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
By my count he tried to get a job as an officer with 6 different agencies, was not hired by 4 of them, was let go by one of them, and ended up on the Cleveland force where no one checked his record from Independence. One wonders why this guy kept trying and then reads this:
“Loehmann, a Parma resident and the son of a longtime officer with the New York Police Department, could not be reached for comment. ”
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/cuyahoga_county_sheriffs_depar_1.html
You know … The Christmas Story was filmed in Cleveland but the reality is that here Ralphie doesn’t shoot his eye out with the BB gun, the cops kill him.
Blouise,
Thanks for that information.
New video shows cops handcuffing Tamir Rice’s sister after gunning down her brother
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/new-video-shows-cops-handcuffing-tamir-rices-sister-after-gunning-down-her-brother/
Excerpt:
Police wrestled a 14-year-old girl to the ground and handcuffed her as she rushed to aid her younger brother after police shot him in a Cleveland park, according to newly released video from the incident.
Officers shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice on Nov. 22 as he sat outside Cudell Recreation Center, where 911 callers reported someone with a gun.
The sixth-grader had been playing with a pellet gun before officers pulled up in a police cruiser and shot him seconds later.
The family’s attorney described the full-length video “shocking and outrageous,” reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“This has to be the cruelest thing I’ve ever seen,” said attorney Walter Madison.
City officials finally released the 30-minute video Thursday, and it backs claims made by the children’s mother that officers stopped her daughter from aiding her brother – and that police failed to render first aid for several minutes.
The video shows rookie Officer Timothy Loehmann help his partner, Officer Frank Garmback, restrain the teenage girl and place her in the back of a police cruiser about 10 feet away from her brother as he lay dying on the ground.
Police stood around the wounded boy, including one who stood with hands on hips as an FBI agent arrived and administered first aid four minutes after officers shot the child.
I would like to know who and when the medics were called. It looks like the cops did not do that and were content to let the child bleed out and leave no witness to their crime.
I think that the fact that they didn’t administer first aid is telling.
The cops just stood around but … there was an FBI guy working in the park (no one says what he was working on)and he was on scene within 4 minutes (all this is caught on the camera so the timing is pretty exact). The FBI guy immediately started CPR and called for the ambulance. The cops were probably suffering from the vapors and preparing to swoon after play acting at being tough guys. Bagged themselves a Ralphie and then the damn FBI guy showed up and the camera kept on rolling. Heroes for 4 short minutes.
Over the past few years, I have noticed a number of news articles where police officers either offered no assistance, or actively blocked people from getting medical attention. Recall the incident where a professional athlete’s (NFL?) mother was dying in the car in the hospital emergency parking lot. He would not let the guy take his mother inside while he slow walked a ticket and waited for backup. The woman died.
There was another incident where a man was speeding with his daughter to the ER. He was carrying her from the car into the hospital, when the officer told him that if he went through the door with the kid, he would be arrested. Man went on inside with his child anyway. I don’t remember the details, but as I recall, the adverse publicity following the incident made the police department back off.