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Still, the dispatcher broadcast the call as a “Code 1,” the “highest priority call,” federal authorities said in their investigation. Officers Loehmann and Frank Garmback responded to the scene. “The information the dispatcher relayed to Officers Garmback and Loehmann was ‘there’s a black male sitting on the swing. He’s wearing a camouflage hat, a gray jacket with black sleeves. He keeps pulling a gun out of his pants and pointing it at people,’” federal officials said. “The dispatcher did not relay that the individual might be a juvenile or that the gun might be fake. Thus, the officers believed that they were responding to a playground where a grown man was brandishing a real gun at individuals, presumably including children.” Federal officials noted that Tamir was 5 feet 7 inches tall and 195 pounds, and grainy video footage of the incident didn’t sufficiently capture this.
”Officer Loehmann fired two shots within less than two seconds of opening the passenger door, striking Tamir once in the abdomen,” federal officials said. Both officers on the scene told investigators Tamir was reaching for his gun, and that Loehmann repeatedly told Tamir to show his hands. “In sum, after extensive examination of the facts in this tragic event, career Justice Department prosecutors have concluded that the evidence is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Loehmann willfully violated Tamir Rice’s constitutional rights, or that Officers Loehmann or Garmback obstructed justice,” federal officials said.
Backlash started pouring in on social media soon after the Justice Department announced its decision. “It cannot be called the Justice Department if it cannot bring about justice for the murder of 12-year-old Tamir Rice,” Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush tweeted Wednesday. “In Tamir’s honor, we say to every Black child: we love you. And we will never stop fighting to protect you.”
Former Democratic presidential nominee Julián Castro said on Twitter Tuesday: “This is not justice.” Rep. Barbara Lee called for an “end to the two systems of justice in this country,” tweeting: “Tamir Rice should be alive today and there should be justice for his family.”
RELATED: Amid massive public outcry, Tamir Rice’s killer won’t be a cop again after all—for now
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