Justice Dept. declines charges in Tamir Rice case

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The U.S. Justice Department has declined to file charges against the Cleveland officers involved in the 2014 fatal shooting of Tamir Rice, reports the Associated Press.

The Justice Department said it found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges against Cleveland police officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback.

“The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers acted willfully,” the report states. “This high legal standard, one of the highest standards of intent imposed by law, requires proof that the officer acted with the specific intent to do something the law forbids. It is not enough to show that the officer made a mistake, acted negligently, acted by accident or mistake, or even exercised bad judgment.

“Although Tamir Rice’s death is tragic, the evidence does not meet these substantial evidentiary requirements. In light of this, and for the reasons explained below, career federal prosecutors with both the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office concluded that this matter is not a prosecutable violation of the federal statutes,” the DOJ said in a news release on Tuesday.

12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed at Cudell Recreation Center on West Boulevard in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2014.

The officers were called to the recreation center after a man drinking beer and waiting for a bus had called 911 to report that a “guy” was pointing a gun at people. The caller told a 911 dispatcher that it was probably a juvenile and the gun might be “fake,” though that information was never relayed to the officers.

Cleveland settled a federal civil-rights lawsuit with Rice’s family for $6 million. A Cuyahoga County grand jury in 2015 declined to indict the officers.