Attorneys, clergy, and community activists gathered outside the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland today to announce they’ve filed affidavits against the two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice last fall. ideastream’s Brian Bull reports:
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The maneuver is based on a rarely-used Ohio law from 1960 that lets private citizens with knowledge of a case go directly to a judge and ask for an arrest warrant. In this case, the community group says a video of the shooting provides probable cause to arrest officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback.
131 pages of documents outline arguments for charges that include aggravated murder, reckless homicide, involuntary manslaughter, and dereliction of duty.
Among those at today’s event was Jawanza Colvin, pastor of Cleveland's Olivet Institutional Baptist Church.
“We believe officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback caused the death of Tamir Rice,” said Colvin, from a podium set up on the Justice Center steps.
“In deeds which were unconscionable, reprehensible, and yes, criminal."
R.A. Vernon is pastor of The Word Church. Like Colvin, he was also among the names signed to the six affidavits.
“We believe that what happened to Tamir deserves justice,” he told reporters. “I have to say this…I don't think that they are terrible men, they may even regret what they did. Maybe they didn't even do it on purpose. But they did it. And when you make mistakes like that you have to be accountable.
Speaking to reporters, Rice family Attorney Walter Madison said it was time for action.
“What you see here today is one of the most American things I’ve seen in my life,” said Madison. “The people have decided to take the opportunity to make the government work for them.”
The provision cited by Madison has little precedent in its 55-year history. Lewis Katz, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, says the action seems born from frustration and despair.
“Even if the judge issues the arrest warrant in this case, a defendant in Ohio has the right to a grand jury indictment on every felony case,” explains Katz.
“Only the defendant can waive the grand jury indictment and that’s not going to happen in this case unless there’s a pretrial agreement.”
And that would bring the case back to where it is now... in the hands of the county prosecutor who received the sheriff’s department investigation last week and has said he will present the case to a grand jury.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association blasted the affidavits as “mob rule” and says both officers involved in Rice’s shooting were acting on the information they had available at the time…that a person had been seen pointing a gun at people outside the Cudell Rec Center. Rice was carrying an air-soft-style pellet gun, and was shot within two seconds of a police cruiser skidding to a stop near the boy.
There’s no timeline for the municipal judge to act on the affidavits.
(ideastream's Tony Ganzer contributed to this report)