Black Lives Matter-Cincinnati is planning a rally today, Tuesday, December 29, at 6 PM, protesting the lack of indictments in the 2014 murder of Tamir Rice by a Cleveland police officer. The rally will be held at Findlay Playground and organizers want all those who stand in solidarity to bring a toy in honor of the 12-year-old Rice.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury declined to indict Cleveland Police Officer Timothy Loehmann, who shot Rice within two seconds of coming into contact with the child on November 22, 2014. Loehmann and his partner answered a 911 call of a person concerned about a child with what looked like a gun in a park pointing it at people. The caller specifically mentioned that the person was a child and that the gun was “probably” not real.
Hours after the decision not to indict the officers was announced, organizers in Cleveland opened a “safe space” for people to congregate and vent. Plans for a larger Cleveland demonstration have not been announced by the group as of yet. Speaking to a National Public Radio affiliate late Monday evening, Cleveland Black Lives Matter organizer Elle Hearns stated that the group understands that the lack of an indictment is a systemic issue:
“Well, I think the injustice that is here starts, one, with the fact that the prosecutor actually didn't advocate for charges to the grand jury towards the officers that were responsible for the murder of Tamir. Prosecutors have oftentimes acted in defense of the officers as opposed to in defense of the families and of the lives that had been taken. So I think really analyzing the root of the issue is essential to understanding why we consistently have no accountability when officers are pulling the trigger.”
“ … there has to be a complete overhaul of the system that continues to let black lives be taken. And when our children - when our children's lives are taken and there's no accountability for anyone, that actually is something that will continue to fuel the movement … ”
Prosecutor collusion in the Rice investigation has been written about before. It worked for George Zimmerman and we’re seeing how it is currently playing out in Chicago with Anita Alvarez.
Black Lives Matter organizers in Cincinnati have four demands they are promoting:
- Cuyahoga County fire Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty
- Cuyahoga County re-open the Tamir Rice case
- Cleveland Police Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback be indicted for the murder of Tamir Rice
- U.S. Department of Justice open an investigation into the murder of Tamir Rice and the unjust pretrial proceedings