On December 28, 2015 a Cleveland grand jury
declined to indict Officer Timothy Loehmann and Officer Frank Garmback in the death of 12 year-old
Tamir Rice. Rice was killed last November when his toy gun was mistaken for a real weapon by police.
As a result of the non-indicitment, protesters are demanding that Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Tim McGinty, who oversaw the grand jury, resign. Activists have been
protesting outside of McGinty's home and even staged a die-in to call for justice for Tamir.
The non-indictment is just the latest in a string of non-indictments for Officers involved in civilian deaths. Some states are taking action by reforming the ways in which police officers involved in civilian killings enter the justice system. The state of California, for example, has
banned the use of grand juries for police shooting cases. Critics of the grand jury system, say the process is clouded in secrecy, and for cases of alleged police brutality, transparency beyond that of which a grand jury will provide, is necessary.
What do you think of the protests? What solutions do you have over issues of policing? Do you see examples of positive change on the issue of policing? Let us know in the comments below. For more resources and analysis on the killing of Tamir Rice and the historical and political context in which his death occurred, check out Jelani Cobb's latest piece in The New Yorker, "Tamir Rice and America's Tradegy", and our Salon at Stowe recap on Has Racial Justice Reached the Tipping Point?.
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