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No charges against officers in Tamir Rice death

Posted at 1:27 PM, Dec 28, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-29 13:44:27-05

No criminal charges will be filed against two officers involved in the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old boy at a Cleveland Recreation Center, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty announced Monday.

The death of Tamir Rice is one of the higher-profile cases of black deaths at the hands of police that have roiled cities nationwide. The grand jury making the decision has been meeting since mid-October.

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McGinty told reporters during a press conference that he has worked to change the way that officer-involved shootings are approached by his office by being open and transparent throughout the process. In fact, the prosecutor's office has released testimony and expert reports to the public throughout the grand jury proceedings.

McGinty also took the opportunity to urge residents and community leaders to take up against realistic toy guns like the one Tamir Rice had when he was shot and killed.

FULL COVERAGE: Tamir Rice Shooting

McGinty also addressed dispatchers who handled the 911 call about Tamir Rice that day.

A 911 caller reported that the boy was waving a "probably fake" gun and pointing it at people.

LISTEN: Dispatch traffic

The dispatcher who sent officers to the rec center did not tell responding officers that the caller thought the gun could be fake, and she told them that the suspect was a "male," not a "juvenile" as the caller described him.

Surveillance video shows patrolman Timothy Loehmann, a rookie at the time, shooting Tamir in an instant as the cruiser driven by patrolman Frank Garmback skids to a stop on Nov. 22, 2014. Tamir died the next day during surgery, and his family has repeatedly questioned why the case has dragged on.

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