CLEVELAND — Lawyers for the family of a 12-year-old black boy who was carrying a pellet gun when he was fatally shot by a white police officer have made an emphatic call for a special prosecutor to take over an investigation they say has been tainted by the public release of two expert reports that determined the shooting was justified.
The attorneys for the family of Tamir Rice sent a letter to Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty and held a news conference with Tamir’s mother, Samaria, on Friday condemning McGinty for releasing reports they say were written by use-of-force experts with a decidedly pro-police bias. One of the two expert reports was from S. Lamar Sims, Denver senior chief deputy attorney.
McGinty said the reports don’t represent any conclusions and aren’t indicative of the recommendation prosecutors will make to the grand jury that will decide whether to indict patrol officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback.
