New Police Report over 12-Year-old US Boy’s Shooting Released

Local Editor

Cleveland police had released a new sheriff's report on the fatal police shooting of Tamir Rice by the Cleveland officer who told investigators that the 12-year-old reached for a gun just before the patrolman opened fire.

The officer's words - released Saturday in a 224-page report from Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty - marked the first time the Loehmann's account of the shooting was revealed.

The report also noted that Loehmann and his partner each refused to be interviewed by sheriff's investigators.

The report, however, noted the observations of fellow officers, many of whom said Loehmann appeared distraught after the shooting when police learned that Tamir was much younger than first thought and that his gun was actually a BB gun.

One officer said the BB gun appeared to be "1,000%" real.

Further, McGinty said he chose to release the report, which was compiled over four months by county sheriff's deputies, after showing the documents on Friday to the Rice family. He issued a statement saying the release was in the interest of transparency.

Though, the evidence had yet to be presented by prosecutors to a grand jury for consideration of an indictment against Loehmann or his partner.

The officers were called to the area after reports that a man was pointing a gun at people around the rec center.

No witnesses in the sheriff's report reported hearing officers issue warnings before shots were fired. Police say Loehmann only shot after his orders were ignored and Tamir reached for his weapon.

As the Tamir was sprawled on the ground next to his BB gun, an FBI agent who happened to be in the area, stopped and began giving first aid.

Police brutality had been escalating in the US since the beginning of the year as a number of teenage African-Americans had been killed by US police.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team