Cleveland mayor-elect Justin Bibb has called on the Federal Department of Justice to re-open its investigation into the killing of Tamir Rice.
Yesterday, on the seventh anniversary of Tamir's death, Bibb posted a statement on social media saying he joined with U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown, Cleveland City Council and others in applying pressure on the DOJ.
Tamir, who would now be 19 years old, was shot and killed by Cleveland Police officer Timothy Loehmann outside the Cudell Recreation Center on Cleveland's west side.
Seven years ago, Tamir Rice was killed while playing with a toy gun. I join Cleveland City Council, U.S. Senator @SherrodBrown and others in calling on the Department of Justice to reopen the investigation. Today, we remember Tamir as the quest for justice continues. pic.twitter.com/J1SJOnZmf1
— Mayor-Elect Justin Bibb (@BibbForCLE) November 23, 2021
Last month, Tamir's mother Samaria Rice and supporters with Tamir's Campaign for Justice marched outside the White House in Washington D.C., making a direct appeal to President Joe Biden to re-open the investigation. Rice said that Biden had told her he would "make things right" on the Tamir case when he was campaigning in 2015.
Former President Donald Trump's Attorney General, William Barr, "quietly" dropped the case in 2020 without alerting Rice or her legal representation. Rice only found out, she said, when she was contacted by a reporter from the New York Times.
Locally, a Cuyahoga County grand jury declined to indict officers Timothy Loehmann or Frank Garmback in 2015. Then-prosecutor Timothy McGinty, who said he agreed with the grand jury's decision, referred to the killing of Rice as the result of a "perfect storm of human error."
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