The death of Tamir Rice, a black 12-year-old boy who was shot by a white police officer in Cleveland on Nov. 22, has been ruled a homicide. Medical examiner Thomas P. Gilson wrote in an autopsy report released on Friday that the cause of death was a “gunshot wound of the torso with injuries of major vessel, intestines and pelvis.”
From the Washington Post:
Officers had responded to a 911 call reporting a person pointing a gun—which turned out to be a toy pistol missing its orange safety cap. Video footage of the shooting shows Officer Timothy Loehmann, 26, shooting Tamir within seconds of arriving on the scene.
Rice died on Nov. 23, after being rushed to MetroHealth Medical Center. His family has filed a wrongful death suit. Loehmann struggled with firearms qualification training two years ago—a 2012 memo states that his handgun performance was “dismal.” He resigned from his previous police job after a superior recommended he be fired.
It took four minutes for Rice to receive medical attention, and when he did, it was not from Loehmann or his partner: A nearby FBI agent gave him mouth-to-mouth, according to Cleveland.com
In a Dec. 4 release, the U.S. Department of Justice and the City of Cleveland agreed to police reform, after “finding a pattern or practice of excessive force.”
