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 "It looks as though the prosecutor is trying to taint the grand
jury process as well as manipulate the judicial process overall,"
said Edward Little, one of the so-called Cleveland 8, a group of
clergy, academics and activists who have called for the two police
officers involved in the November 2014 playground shooting of Tamir
Rice to be indicted.
The conclusions of a retired FBI agent and an out-of-state
prosecutor were submitted to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office
ahead of an expected decision by a grand jury on whether criminal
charges were warranted in the shooting, which was captured on
surveillance video.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said in a statement on
Saturday that his office was not reaching any conclusions based on
the two reports. The reports said Timothy Loehmann, the white
officer who shot Rice, who was black, opened fire because he felt
threatened.
The case is one in a series of high-profile police-related shooting
deaths of African-Americans which have raised questions about the
use of force by law enforcement.
Little said the release of the reports to media late Saturday on a
holiday weekend was "reminiscent" of prosecutors' handling of the
shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri where details of the
case were leaked to the media before a grand jury decision not to
bring charges against the police officer involved.
"This community has lost all hope in this prosecutor to be fair and
impartial," Little said.
Retired FBI agent Kimberly Crawford, in a review of the shooting,
wrote that it was "apparent not only was Officer Loehmann required
to make a split-second decision, but also that his response was a
reasonable one.”
In another report, Colorado prosecutor S. Lamar Sims also concluded
that "Officer Loehmann's belief that Rice posed a threat of serious
physical harm or death was objectively reasonable, as was his
response to that perceived threat."
The Rice family's attorney, Subodh Chandra, accused prosecutors of
failing to properly advocate for the victim and of "sandbagging" the
grand jury proceedings by improperly releasing case documents.
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"Our prosecutor is freelancing. The officers here are being given
special treatment," he said in a phone interview.
Civil rights activists lit up social media on Sunday to criticize
the handling of the case.
"It's Mike Brown all over again. The police are working their
tactics to make sure the family don't get that day in court," said
Tory Russell, with Hands Up United, a Ferguson-based social rights
group.
"This is a very transparent attempt to undermine the ability to
receive justice for Tamir Rice and his family," said Arisha Hatch,
with the civil rights group Color of Change.
Rice was killed after Cleveland police received an emergency call
about someone brandishing a gun outside a city recreation center.
Officer Loehmann shot Rice twice in the abdomen, seconds after his
partner, who also is white, drove their vehicle to within 5 feet
(1.5 meters) of the boy in the playground. The gun turned out to be
an replica pistol that shoots pellets, but had the orange tip
removed.
(Reporting by Kim Palmer and David Adams in Miami; editing by Grant
McCool)
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