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| Cleveland agrees to pay Tamir Rice family $6m over police shooting | Cleveland agrees to pay Tamir Rice family $6m over police shooting |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The city of Cleveland, Ohio, has agreed to pay $6m to the family of Tamir Rice to settle a lawsuit over the 12-year-old’s fatal shooting by a police officer. | The city of Cleveland, Ohio, has agreed to pay $6m to the family of Tamir Rice to settle a lawsuit over the 12-year-old’s fatal shooting by a police officer. |
| The payment will avert a federal civil rights case brought against city authorities by Tamir’s relatives over the death of “a young boy with his entire life ahead of him, full of potential and promise”, their attorneys said on Monday. | The payment will avert a federal civil rights case brought against city authorities by Tamir’s relatives over the death of “a young boy with his entire life ahead of him, full of potential and promise”, their attorneys said on Monday. |
| “Although historic in financial terms, no amount of money can adequately compensate for the loss of a life,” said a statement issued by the firm of Jonathan Abady, Earl Ward and Zoe Salzman, their lead counsel. “Nothing will bring Tamir back. His unnecessary and premature death leaves a gaping hole for those who knew and loved him that can never be filled.” | |
| Related: Tamir Rice was killed by white America's irrational fear of black boys | Steven W Thrasher | Related: Tamir Rice was killed by white America's irrational fear of black boys | Steven W Thrasher |
| The details of the settlement were contained in a filing by judge Solomon Oliver to federal court in Cleveland on Monday morning. The city will pay Tamir’s family $3m this year and $3m next year. Tamir’s estate will receive $5.5m, while his mother, Samaria Rice, and his sister, Tajai Rice, will receive $250,000 each directly. “There is no admission of wrongdoing,” the court filing states. | The details of the settlement were contained in a filing by judge Solomon Oliver to federal court in Cleveland on Monday morning. The city will pay Tamir’s family $3m this year and $3m next year. Tamir’s estate will receive $5.5m, while his mother, Samaria Rice, and his sister, Tajai Rice, will receive $250,000 each directly. “There is no admission of wrongdoing,” the court filing states. |
| Tamir was shot dead by Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann, who opened fire less than two seconds after arriving at a park where the 12-year-old was playing with a toy gun in November 2014. A 911 caller had reported that he appeared to be wielding a weapon and noted it was “probably fake”, but this caveat was not relayed to the officers by dispatchers. | Tamir was shot dead by Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann, who opened fire less than two seconds after arriving at a park where the 12-year-old was playing with a toy gun in November 2014. A 911 caller had reported that he appeared to be wielding a weapon and noted it was “probably fake”, but this caveat was not relayed to the officers by dispatchers. |
| In December, a grand jury declined to indict officer Loehmann and his partner, Frank Garmback, on criminal charges, following a lengthy investigation process that was sharply criticised by the Rice family and campaigners. | In December, a grand jury declined to indict officer Loehmann and his partner, Frank Garmback, on criminal charges, following a lengthy investigation process that was sharply criticised by the Rice family and campaigners. |
| Tamir’s death followed the high-profile police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City, sparking a new civil rights movement that calls for drastic reforms of US policing. | Tamir’s death followed the high-profile police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City, sparking a new civil rights movement that calls for drastic reforms of US policing. |
| Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty, who oversaw the process, argued that Tamir’s death was caused by a “perfect storm of human error, mistakes and miscommunications by all involved that day”, but there was no evidence of criminal misconduct by police. | |
| McGinty, who recommended to the grand jurors that no charges be brought, was defeated by a primary election challenger earlier this year and is likely to be out of a job by the end of the year. | McGinty, who recommended to the grand jurors that no charges be brought, was defeated by a primary election challenger earlier this year and is likely to be out of a job by the end of the year. |
| The settlement from Cleveland is the latest in a series reached in recent months with relatives of African Americans killed during encounters with police officers. New York authorities settled with Garner’s family for $5.9m in July last year. | The settlement from Cleveland is the latest in a series reached in recent months with relatives of African Americans killed during encounters with police officers. New York authorities settled with Garner’s family for $5.9m in July last year. |
| A settlement of $6.5m was agreed between the city of North Charleston, South Carolina, and the family of Walter Scott, who was shot dead while running away following a traffic stop there in April last year. And a payment of $6.4m will be given by Baltimore, Maryland, to the family of Freddie Gray, who died from a broken neck sustained in the back of a police van, also in April last year. | A settlement of $6.5m was agreed between the city of North Charleston, South Carolina, and the family of Walter Scott, who was shot dead while running away following a traffic stop there in April last year. And a payment of $6.4m will be given by Baltimore, Maryland, to the family of Freddie Gray, who died from a broken neck sustained in the back of a police van, also in April last year. |
| The attorneys for Tamir’s family said on Monday morning that while “there is no such thing as closure or justice” in such a case, they hoped the settlement would “stimulate a movement for genuine change in our society and our nation’s policing”. | The attorneys for Tamir’s family said on Monday morning that while “there is no such thing as closure or justice” in such a case, they hoped the settlement would “stimulate a movement for genuine change in our society and our nation’s policing”. |
| “Regrettably, Tamir’s death is not an isolated event,” they said. “The problem of police violence, especially in communities of color, is a crisis plaguing our nation.” | “Regrettably, Tamir’s death is not an isolated event,” they said. “The problem of police violence, especially in communities of color, is a crisis plaguing our nation.” |
| City council member Jeff Johnson said he was not surprised by the size of the settlement, but he wondered how cash-strapped Cleveland would pay the bill. | City council member Jeff Johnson said he was not surprised by the size of the settlement, but he wondered how cash-strapped Cleveland would pay the bill. |
| “I don’t recall seeing [the settlement] in our latest budget,” Johnson said. “It will come out of our general fund and it will impact city services.” | “I don’t recall seeing [the settlement] in our latest budget,” Johnson said. “It will come out of our general fund and it will impact city services.” |
| He added: “I am not surprised that the city had to pay that large amount because of the failings of its employees,” noting that Loehmann had been deemed unfit for duty at a previous police department and the dispatchers’ failure to relay to officers that Tamir’s toy gun was probably fake. | He added: “I am not surprised that the city had to pay that large amount because of the failings of its employees,” noting that Loehmann had been deemed unfit for duty at a previous police department and the dispatchers’ failure to relay to officers that Tamir’s toy gun was probably fake. |
| He added that the settlement would not change the minds of many residents, especially African Americans, about the city’s culpability. | He added that the settlement would not change the minds of many residents, especially African Americans, about the city’s culpability. |
| “We’re wrong, we’re definitely at fault and we needed to pay a price for that,” Johnson said. | “We’re wrong, we’re definitely at fault and we needed to pay a price for that,” Johnson said. |
| Budget projections show Cleveland ending the 2016 fiscal year with a small surplus of $722,000. In February, the city’s mayor, Frank Jackson, proposed an income tax increase to keep the city from slipping into the red in 2017. He blamed declining property taxes and the state’s cuts to its cities. Among the city’s expenses are $11m associated with an agreement between Cleveland and the federal Department of Justice over police use of force. | Budget projections show Cleveland ending the 2016 fiscal year with a small surplus of $722,000. In February, the city’s mayor, Frank Jackson, proposed an income tax increase to keep the city from slipping into the red in 2017. He blamed declining property taxes and the state’s cuts to its cities. Among the city’s expenses are $11m associated with an agreement between Cleveland and the federal Department of Justice over police use of force. |
| “It’s sad, in a sense,” said Johnson. “No only was Tamir Rice unnecessarily killed by a city worker, but the taxpayers of the city have to pay for that failure of judgment by the dispatcher and the two officers.” | “It’s sad, in a sense,” said Johnson. “No only was Tamir Rice unnecessarily killed by a city worker, but the taxpayers of the city have to pay for that failure of judgment by the dispatcher and the two officers.” |