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City Officials Explain Tamir Rice Ambulance Fees

Mayor Jackson (photo: Elizabeth Miller)

By Elizabeth Miller 

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has apologized to the family of Tamir Rice after the city filed a claim yesterdayasking that Rice’s estate pay $500 in ambulance fees.  Officials say no one at the city was notified that the claim, which was closed last year, had been reopened.  

Usually when the city discovers a source that may be able to pay outstanding charges, a claim is filed with that source.  So when the executor of Tamir Rice’s estate requested a billing statement from the city earlier this week, that appeared to be a source able to pay the five-hundred dollar bill. 

Mayor Frank Jackson says the routine nature of that process led to the claim.

"Somebody should have flagged this and said that “Hey, this is a little different than others, what should I do with this?” That did not happen," said Jackson.

An attorney for the Rice family calls the incident disturbing.

Rice was taken to a local hospital after being shot in November 2014 by a Cleveland police officer responding to a disturbance call at a local rec center.  He later died from his wounds.

A grand jury looking into the case declined to bring charges against the Officers involved late last year.