On Tuesday, prosecutors released statements from the officers involved in the 2014 shooting death of Tamir Rice. Both Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann's statements were read in front of a grand jury on Monday, Loehmann’s attorney confirms to WEWS' Sarah Buduson. Loehmann, the officer who fatally shot Rice in November of last year, called the incident an "active shooter situation" and claimed he had "very little time" when exiting the police vehicle:
In his own statement, Garmback says he thought Rice was an adult "over 18 years old," echoing Loehmann's assertion that he originally believed Rice to be "over 18 years old and about 185 pounds." Rice, who was 12 years old at the time of the shooting, died the next day at MetroHealth Medical Center.
Though the 911 caller reportedly told the dispatcher that the so-called gun brandished by Rice was "probably fake" and that he "may be a juvenile," those two pieces of information were allegedly not passed on to the officers in question. Still, according to WEWS, surveillance footage shows rookie patrol officer Loehmann shooting Tamir "within two seconds" of the patrol car coming to a sudden stop.
Earlier this month, many activists joined Tamir's mother Samaria Rice on the anniversary of her son's death during a hometown vigil. Additional cities across the United States held vigils of their own, with the hashtag #YearWithoutTamir quickly becoming a place to speak passionately about Tamir's death and the need for continued resilience in the years ahead.
