In an odd and unprecedented statement, the City of Cleveland, Ohio says that the 12 year old Black child that was shot and killed by Cleveland Police caused his own demise
In a statement released on Friday by the City of Cleveland, it has been concluded that 12 year old Tamir Rice, the child that was killed by a police officer while playing with a toy gun, lost his life because he did not “exercise due care to avoid injury” when the police shot him outside of a local recreation center.
The city’s statement comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the Rice family in December charges that the city, Officer Timothy Loehmann, who pulled the trigger that killed the child, Officer Frank Garmback, the 911 operators, and the Cleveland PD violated their rights on November 22 when Tamir was killed outside of the Cudell Recreation Center.
The response from the City of Cleveland also states that all of the injuries his family claims in the suit
“were directly and proximately caused by their own acts, not this Defendant.”
The city’s response gives no details of the defense, however, it does say in its 20 defenses that the 12 year old died because of
“the conduct of individuals or entities other than Defendant.”
In response to accusations contained in the Rice vs. the City of Cleveland lawsuit that the city was using the sheriff’s office’s investigation as a means to obstruct justice, the city claims it is not doing this and is cooperating with this investigation.
Walter Madison, an Akron attorney representing the Rice family, said Friday that he believes “that there’s merit in our complaint.”
“I do believe that a 12-year-old child died unnecessarily at the hands of Cleveland police officers and I do believe that certain officers shouldn’t have been entitled to wear the uniform.”
-Sha Be Allah(@KingPenStatus)
