2 reports say officer’s shooting of Tamir Rice justified

COLUMBUS — A white Cleveland police officer was justified in fatally shooting a black 12-year-old boy holding a pellet gun moments after pulling up beside him, according to two outside reviews conducted at the request of the prosecutor investigating the death.

A retired FBI agent and a Denver prosecutor both found the rookie patrolman who shot Tamir Rice exercised a reasonable use of force because he had reason to perceive the boy — described in a 911 call as man waving and pointing a gun — as a serious threat.

The reports were released Saturday night by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, which asked for the outside reviews as it presents evidence to a grand jury that will ultimately determine whether Timothy Loehmann will be charged in the death of Tamir last November.

“We are not reaching any conclusions from these reports,” Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said in a statement. “The gathering of evidence continues, and the grand jury will evaluate it all.”

He said the reports, which included a technical reconstruction by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, were released in the interests of being “as public and transparent as possible.”

Subodh Chandra, a lawyer for the family of Tamir Rice, said Saturday he couldn’t immediately comment on the reports because he needed to review them, adding “it’s rather sad the prosecutor’s office gave the material to the media rather than the victim’s family.”

Both experts were provided with surveillance video of the shooting that showed Loehmann firing at Tamir within two seconds after the police cruiser driven by his partner pulled up next to the boy.