Tamir Rice

Tamir Elijah Rice (June 25, 2002 – November 23, 2014) was 12 years old when he was shot by Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann. Rice was holding a toy gun.

Tamir's Life

Tamir was raised by his mother Samaria Rice. At the time of his death, he had two sisters, Tasheona (18) and Tajai (14), and a brother Kavon (15). Samaria raised the children as a single mother, without involvement from their fathers. They moved to the community where they lived in Cleveland eight months before Rice was killed.

Tamir played basketball, football, and soccer, and he was involved in the Boys & Girls Club. His mother describes him as a "mama's boy." She was an involved and supportive parent.

Tamir's Murder

On November 22, 2014, Tamir went his sister Tajai to Cumell Commons, a park with a recreation center in Cleveland, Ohio.

A man outside the Cudell Recreation center called 9-1-1, reaching Constance Hollinger, and told her that someone was pointing a gun at people, and the gun was "probably fake."

Hollinger spoke to police dispatcher Beth Mandl. Mandl did not tell the police that the caller said the gun was probably fake, or that the person with the gun was a child and not an adult.

Timothy Loehmann and his partner Frank Garmback responded to the call. Loehmann shot Rice at close range within two seconds of arriving on the scene. Rice was "shot in the abdomen and the bullet damaged a major vein and his intestines."

Rice's sister, Tajai, was in the rec center and heard her brother had been shot. She ran to him and was "knocked to the ground, handcuffed and placed in the back of the police car" by Garmback. Tajai Rice was held in the back of the police car for at least 30 minutes as the police waited for paramedics to arrive.

Rice lay on the ground, wounded, for four minutes before a man in plain clothes arrived and began administering first aid. Rice died of his wounds the next day.

Aftermath of Murder

Timeline

• November 22, 2014: Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir Rice.
• November 23, 2014: Rice died.
• November 26, 2014: Video of shooting was released.
• December 2, 2014: Loehmann's father tells the press his son had no choice but to shoot Rice.
• December 3, 2014: Media reported Loehmann's "dismal record" at his previous police job, where he resigned before being fired after six months in 2012. The Cleveland police department did not check his file at his previous job before hiring him.
• December 4, 2014: The U.S. Department of Justice publishes a report finding "unnecessary and excessive use of deadly force."
• December 12, 2014: A medical examiner ruled Rice's death a homicide.
• January 8, 2015: A second video is released, this one showing the cops tackling and handcuffing Rice's sister as she rushed to her brother's aid.
• January 14, 2015: Media reported that the dispatcher, Beth Mandl, was fired from a previous job as a police dispatcher in 2008, and she was arrested on a concealed weapons charge the same month.

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• Timothy Loehmann
• Black Lives Matter
• Police Brutality

External resources

• "Tamir Rice's mother, grandmother, reflect on boy's life, death (videos)," Cleveland.com.

External articles

2015:

• "New Tamir Rice video shows cop tackle his 14-year-old sister as she rushed to dying brother’s aid," The Grio, January 8, 2015.
• Charles M. Blow, "Tamir Rice and the Value of Life," New York Times, January 11, 2015.
• Jonathan Capehart, "Video shows that Tamir Rice’s sister needed compassion, not cuffs," Washington Post, January 13, 2015.
• Cory Shaffer, "Tamir Rice's sister says Cleveland police lacked 'decency' and 'respect' in detaining her after shooting," Cleveland.com, February 9, 2015.
• Scott Kaufman, "City of Cleveland: 12-year-old Tamir Rice caused his own death by failing to ‘avoid injury’," Raw Story, March 1, 2015.
• Cory Shaffer, "Sister of Tamir Rice gave formal statement in complaint against Cleveland police," Cleveland.com, March 19, 2015.
• Elliot Hannon, "Tamir Rice’s Mother Moves Into a Shelter as Family Struggles With No Charges or Burial," Slate, May 4, 2015.
• Feminista Jones, "Samaria Rice on Loving and Losing Her Son, Tamir," Ebony, June 2, 2015.
• Mark Gillispie, "Judge: Enough Evidence to Charge Police in Black Boy's Death," MSN, June 12, 2015.
• Daniel Politi, "No One Heard Cleveland Officer Warn 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Before Opening Fire," Slate, June 13, 2015.
• Monica Simpson, "Considering Motherhood and Murdered Black Children," Ebony, August 18, 2015.
• "Police dispatcher in Tamir Rice case resigns," USA Today, September 21, 2015.
• Ta-Nehisi Coates, "The Legal Murder Of Tamir Rice," The Atlantic, October 11, 2015.
• Jaeah Lee, "Anger is Boiling Over the Outcome of New Probes Into the Police Shooting of a 12-year-old. Here Are 6 Takeaways," Mother Jones, October 11, 2015.
• Eric Heisig, "Cleveland police officers say they were not indifferent to Tamir Rice's gunshot wounds," Cleveland.com, November 13, 2015.
• Shantell E. Jamison, "One Year Later: Justice for Tamir Rice," Jet, November 18, 2015.
• "Hundreds attend vigil 1 year after death of Tamir Rice, 12, shot by police," The Grio, November 23, 2015.
• Shantell E. Jamison, "Lawyers Present New Reports in Rice Case," Jet, November 20, 2015.
• Mark Gillispie, "White officer won’t face charges in killing of Tamir Rice," The Grio, December 28, 2015.
• Kirsten West Savali, "Tamir Rice Found Guilty of Being Young, Free and Black," The Root, December 28, 2015.
• Breanna Edwards, "No Criminal Charges for Cleveland Officer Who Killed 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice," The Root, December 28, 2015.
• "Tamir Rice: Family Releases Statement," Associated Press, December 28, 2015.
• Daniel Marans, "How A Prosecutor Managed To Blame A 12-Year-Old For Getting Killed By A Cop," Huffington Post, December 28, 2015.
• Zeba Blay, "27 Things Every Black Person Must Learn Before Age 12," Huffington Post, December 28, 2015.
• Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, "Exclusive: Open Letter to Tamir Rice," Ebony, December 29, 2015.
• "Prosecutors: Mistakes in Tamir Rice Death," Jet, December 29, 2015.

2014:

• "Tamir Rice: police release video of 12-year-old's fatal shooting – video," The Guardian, November 26, 2014.
• "Officer who killed Tamir Rice had no choice, cop’s dad says," The Grio, December 2, 2014.
• "Cleveland officer who shot Tamir Rice had 'dismal' handgun performance for Independence police," Cleveland.com, December 3, 2014.
• "Medical examiner rules Tamir Rice death ‘homicide’," The Grio, December 12, 2014.