Tamir Rice’s death has been ruled a homicide by a Cuyahoga County, Ohio, medical examiner in a recently released autopsy, BuzzFeed reports. The autopsy concludes that Tamir died from a “gunshot wound of the torso with injuries of major vessel, intestines and pelvis,” also noting in capital letters, “HOMICIDE.”
Rice, 12, was shot and killed while playing with his airsoft BB gun in a park near his home. A 911 call about a “guy with a gun” prompted the response by officers, who can be seen in surveillance footage shooting the young boy within seconds of arriving on the scene. The caller had originally reported that the gun was “probably fake,” but that message was reportedly never relayed to officers.
It was later reported that Loehmann, the officer who shot Tamir, was declared unfit for duty in 2012 by a former employer, the Independence Police Department.
As Tamir’s grieving family grapples with the young boy’s death, they have also been on a search for justice, filing a wrongful death suit against the city and the police force. Tamir’s mother, Samaria Rice, has openly said that she wants a conviction for both of the cops who were on the scene when her son died.
The Cleveland Police Department and the county prosecutor are currently investigating Tamir’s case, BuzzFeed notes.
Read more at BuzzFeed.
DISCUSSION