Tamir Rice

Who was Tamir Rice?

Tamir Elijah Rice, shortly named Tamir Rice, was an African-American 12-year-old, who was shot dead by officer Loehmaan, while another officer stood by, in the street of Cleveland Ohio, the United States, for carrying a gun (which was later revealed to be a toy-gun) on 22nd November 2014. 

Why is Tamir Rice's case famous?

Various medias covered Tamir Rice after his untimely death. The incident got famous after Tamir's mother released a statement in the media; in her speech, she said that an officer shot her son for carrying a replica toy air-soft gun. 

 Further, the incident got more popularity after several surveillance videos were released. 

After nickelodeon started showing statements in support of Black Americans and police brutality, people questioned nickelodeon's way of operation; they argued that the children's cable network was frightening small kids. Still, many also argued that Tamir Rice was also a kid when he was gunned down by an officer, which brought him to the media attention, six years after his tragic demise.

Tamir Rice Bio, Early life and Education

Tamir Rice was born on 25th June 2002 in Cleveland, Ohio, to African-American parents Samaria Rice and Leonard Warner.

When Tamir Rice was shot, he studied at a school in Cleveland, along with his sister.

Tamir Rice's untimely death (Shooting)

It was on 22nd November 2014, when Rice was walking in a park beside the Cudell Recreation Center, a place he visits frequently. 

Rice had a black toy air-soft gun, without the orange protection indicator customarily found on the barrel, and was playing with it in the park. 

A call to 911 dispatcher by an unknown caller reported Rice's movements but didn't show his doubt on whether the gun was real or not. 

Arriving at the scene in seconds, officer Loehmann opened the car's door and released two shots at Rice, who was almost three-meter away.

Loehmann stated he had advised Rice to raise his hands three times as the car pulled up, but Rice declined to obey and was shot dead by Loehmann at around 3:30 pm. Rice died the next day in the hospital, who fell to the ground immediately after being shot.

Security camera footage revealed a police car driven by Frank Garmback. The statement couldn't be verified as the leaked surveillance footage didn't have any audio. 

After the incident, he was rushed to the hospital, but Tamir's sister and his mother wasn't allowed to see his body and were asked to stay back by the police officials.

Tamir's mother was also threatened after the incident to keep things low-profile, but she took the media's help and brought the officers to justice.

Officers involved in Tamir's shooting

Timothy Loehmann

The twenty-six-year-old rookie officer, Loehmann, who shot Tamir Rice, was on the job in Cleveland for almost eight months, when he shot a 12 years old colored kid to death. 

As per his records, he had been denied for police duties by several nearby cities and even Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department. 

Loehmann was recruited for a police job in Independence, Ohio, but was sacked in November 2012, after poor performance evaluation.

Frank Garmback

The Forty-six-year-old, Frank Garmback, a driver of Tamir's shooting incident, had been an officer of Cleveland Police force since 2008. 

The officer was also registered with some other cases against him, as per the victim's mother, Garmback also physically abused her while her son was in the hospital, and she also filed a lawsuit stating that Garmback forcibly handling the shooting scenario. 

Protest

The shooting against the 12-year-old innocent boy fumed up the public after people realized, Tamir had been shot by officers without approaching to surrender gently. 

People were furious over such lack of interdisciplinary actions by officers, which could have been handled without force. 

Around 200 protesters marched from Public Square to Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, which led it to shut its operation down, primarily for some period.     

However, Rice's family approached protesters to make calm and peaceful situations for the police to their work.

Alimony (Settlement) for Tamir Rice's incident

On the 5th December, 2014, Tamir Rice's family filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court to take immediate action against the officers responsible for the death of their son.

On 25th April 2016, all evidence relating to the incident were discussed, and the court decided to grant alimony worth $6 million to Tamir's family.

Some FAQs related to Tamir Rice

How old was Tamir Rice when he was gunned down?

Tamir was only 12 years old when he was shot dead.

Where was Tamir Rice shot?

Tamir Rice was shot on the street of 1910 West Blvd, Cleveland's Cudell Recreation Center, at around 3:30 pm.

Who were the police officers involved in Tamir Rice's shooting?

Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback were the two police officers involved in Tamir Rice's shooting.