The fatal shooting of a 12-year-old boy by Cleveland police has been ruled a homicide, sparking anew discussions about police brutality.
Tamir Rice was carrying a toy pellet gun near a city playground when he was shot by police on Nov. 22. Surveillance video showed that police, responding to a 911 call about a child with a gun, shot Mr. Rice within seconds of approaching him in a patrol car.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner announced Friday that Mr. Rice had died from taking a bullet in the abdomen, and ruled the death a homicide.
The death of the young boy has added to the furor over similar cases involving Michael Brown and Eric Garner, black men who were killed by white police officers. Mr. Rice is also black.
A grand jury — the source of much criticism during the past month in the Brown and Garner cases — will decide whether charges should be filed against the officer who pulled the trigger, Tim Loehmann. Officer Loehmann said he believed the young boy was carrying an actual firearm.
The death of Garner after police put him in a chokehold was also ruled a homicide, though no charges were brought against the officers involved.
In a review completed this year before Mr. Rice’s death, the Justice Department found “a pattern or practice of unreasonable and unnecessary use of force” at the Cleveland police department, and said officers were too quick to resort to deadly force.
• Phillip Swarts can be reached at pswarts@washingtontimes.com.
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