The Justice Department announced last week that it is closing its investigation of the officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

The Justice Department determined that there is insufficient evidence to charge the officer with a federal offense. In a statement released earlier this week, this Justice Department explained that “Although Tamir Rice’s death is tragic, the evidence does not meet these substantial evidentiary requirements. 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."

Tamir Rice was a 12-year-old African American boy who was fatally shot in a public park on November 22nd, 2014. The incident happened when a passerby told 911 operator Constance Hollinger that there was an individual who was waving what appeared to be a fake gun around. The caller mentioned twice at the beginning of the call that the gun might be a fake and at the end of the call, he mentions that the individual was “probably a juvenile.” Hollinger failed to relay parts of the call including Rice potentially being a juvenile and that the gun might be a fake to dispatcher Beth Mandl. In turn, Mandl did not relay this information to the officers who arrived on the scene.

Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garnback responded to the call. In video surveillance, the officers can be seen driving their vehicle right up to the area where Rice was standing. Rice walked toward the vehicle and before the vehicle came to a full stop, officer Timothy Loehmann can be seen firing his pistol twice at Rice. It was later determined Rice had been hit in the torso and was declared dead the following day.

Loehmann later explained that he warned Rice to show his hands twice and fired his pistol when Rice allegedly put his hands in his pockets to draw out the gun. The gun which was loaned to rice by a friend was not a real weapon but a fake gun that had the orange tip on the front removed.

According to the prosecutors, the officer did not violate the constitutional rights of Rice, nor did the officers try to obstruct justice. In their statement, prosecutors explain, "The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers acted willfully. 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.”

After a tumultuous battle with the city of Cleveland, the Rice family filed a lawsuit against the city in 2016. The city eventually settled with a $6 million payout. The city agreed to pay $3 million that year and an additional $3 million the next. Tamir’s estate would receive $5.5 million while his sister and his mother would each receive $250,000 directly. In the settlement, the city also agreed that there would be no admission of any wrongdoing on their part. The settlement is described as the highest the city has ever paid for a case involving police shootings.

Public Response to Tamir Rice Case

The public response to both the shooting at the time it happened and the conclusion of the Justice Department's investigation is one that is riddled with anger and frustration. The fatal shooting of an unarmed black man, or in this case a black child, is one of several that have made national headlines in regards to the way white police officers respond to calls involving black people. This case has been especially perplexing for the African American community because there is footage of how quickly officers resorted to aiming and shooting their weapon at the suspect. In the case of Tamir Rice, he did not run away or appear to resist the police. Prosecutors argue however that the footage obtained was so grainy and unclear that they could neither prove nor disprove that Tamir Rice was reaching in his pocket for the gun.

Rice Family Response

In a statement made by the Rice family attorney, Jonathan Abady to CNN, Abady explains that Tamir’s mother, Samaria, is distraught by the news that the officers who killed her son will not face charges. Abady goes on to say, "This case involves the totally unjustified shooting of a 12-year-old child. This is part of a problem that we've been living with as a society for as long as anyone can remember, that is the unjustified excessive use of force by police officers against people of color. And the idea that people would not be held accountable for this is really more than upsetting."