TIMOTHY LOEHMANN

Former Minnesota police Officer Kim Potter has been sentenced to two years in prison for manslaughter in the 2021 shooting death of Daunte Wright.

The Justice Department says it will not reopen the federal investigation into the 2014 death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot to death by Cleveland police.

A suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for a Taser was led away in handcuffs Thursday after a jury found her guilty of manslaughter in the death of Black motorist Daunte Wright.

Tamir Rice was 12 when he died after being shot by then-Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann

The family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was fatally shot by Cleveland police in 2014, is asking the Justice Department to reopen the case into his death after it was closed near the end of the Trump administration.

To bring federal civil rights charges in cases like these, the Justice Department must prove that an officer’s actions willfully broke the law and are not simply the result of a mistake, negligence or bad judgment. But the video reviewed by federal prosecutors makes the sequence of events less clear. Neither of two witnesses who either saw part of the encounter or reported hearing gunshots said they saw exactly what Rice was doing just before the shooting, according to the Justice Department. In a statement at the scene to three other law enforcement officers, Loehmann “repeatedly and consistently stated” that Tamir was reaching for a gun before he shot him, prosecutors said. Both Loehmann and Garmback also said in statements after the shooting that Loehmann had given Tamir “multiple commands to show his hands before shooting” and both officers saw him reaching for the weapon.

To bring federal civil rights charges in cases like these, the Justice Department must prove that an officer's actions willfully broke the law rather than being the result of a mistake, negligence or bad judgment. The Justice Department says seven use-of-force experts — three retained by the family, four by local authorities — reviewed the recording, but the poor quality of the video on which they relied and their "conflicting opinions added little to the case." Inconsistent witness statements also complicated any prosecution, and neither person said they saw exactly what Rice was doing just before the shooting, according to the Justice Department. In a statement at the scene to three other law enforcement officers, Loehmann "repeatedly and consistently stated" that Tamir was reaching for a gun before he shot him, prosecutors said. The Justice Department also investigated whether the officers obstructed justice in statements they made to other investigators soon after the shooting.

To bring federal civil rights charges in cases like these, the Justice Department must prove that an officer’s actions willfully broke the law and are not simply the result of a mistake, negligence or bad judgment. But the video reviewed by federal prosecutors makes the sequence of events less clear. Neither of two witnesses who either saw part of the encounter or reported hearing gunshots said they saw exactly what Rice was doing just before the shooting, according to the Justice Department. In a statement at the scene to three other law enforcement officers, Loehmann “repeatedly and consistently stated” that Tamir was reaching for a gun before he shot him, prosecutors said. Both Loehmann and Garmback also said in statements after the shooting that Loehmann had given Tamir “multiple commands to show his hands before shooting” and both officers saw him reaching for the weapon.

It is not clear from the video evidence when Tamir became aware of the patrol car driving toward the gazebo. Officer Loehmann fired two shots within less than two seconds of opening the passenger door, striking Tamir once in the abdomen. As soon as Officer Loehmann exited the patrol car, he fell to his right and to the ground, toward the rear of the patrol car, resulting in an ankle injury. Officer Loehmann fired two shots within seconds of opening the passenger door, striking Tamir once in the abdomen. Officers Loehmann and Garmback gave several additional statements to other responding officers in the minutes and hours after the shooting.

A report detailing the investigation of the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland has been released. Police officer Timothy Loehmann shot and killed Tamir, who was holding a fake gun. Dean Reynolds reports Loehmann was distraught, saying "He gave me no choice ... he reached for the gun, and there was nothing I could do."

A Cleveland judge has found probable cause that police officer Timothy Loehmann should face murder charges in the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice; California produces 100 percent of the nation's almond supply, and 80 percent of those consumed worldwide. But in the midst of the state's historic drought, the little nut that requires a lot of water has become a symbol of a big problem.