CLEVELAND (AP) - Cleveland’s police chief will not discipline a police supervisor who detained a 12-year-old black youth’s sister the day the youth was fatally shot by a white police officer while playing with a pellet gun.
Cleveland.com reports that chief Calvin Williams dismissed the civilian complaint against Sgt. Janell Rutherford on Monday. Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said the decision would not become official until the end of a 30-day period during which an appeal can be made to the city’s Public Safety Director.
The city’s Civilian Police Review Board had recommended last November that Rutherford receive an unpaid suspension of six to 10 days for keeping Tamir Rice’s 14-year-old sister, in the back of a police cruiser for over an hour after Tamir was shot in November 2014.
Rice’s sister filed the complaint against Rutherford in 2015.
Subodh Chandra, a lawyer for the Rice family, issued a statement that said the children’s mother, Samira Rice, “is no longer shocked by the unwillingness of the police chief to hold anyone accountable, but she is disappointed.”
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