Tamir Rice shooting: Cleveland reaches $6m settlement

US city reaches settlement with family of Tamir Rice, 12-year-old black boy shot by white officer in November 2014.

In support of Tamir Rice
Rice's shooting triggered large protests calling for police officers to be held accountable for brutality [AP]

The US city of Cleveland has reached a $6m settlement with the family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice who was shot dead by a white police officer while playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation centre.

An order filed in US District Court in Cleveland on Monday said the city will pay out $3m this year and $3m in 2017.

Under the terms of the settlement, Cleveland does not admit any wrongdoing, according to the order.

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The wrongful death suit against two officers and the city alleged the officers acted recklessly when they confronted the boy in November 2014.

A grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the officers.

Investigators last year found no hard evidence the police officer who shot Rice ordered him to raise his hands before opening fire.

Documents released in July 2015 by the prosecutor handling the racially charged case detail the moments before the brief, deadly encounter – and how the responding officers seemed almost shell-shocked as the boy lay dying outside a recreation centre.

“Although historic in financial terms, no amount of money can adequately compensate for the loss of a life,” Subodh Chandra, the Rice family’s attorney, said in response to the reported settlement.

“The problem of police violence, especially in communities of colour, is a crisis plaguing our nation. It is the Rice family’s sincere hope that Tamir’s death will stimulate a movement for genuine change in our society and our nation’s policing.”

Cleveland police said Timothy Loehmann, the officer, told Tamir three times to put his hands up, then opened fire when the boy reached for the pellet gun tucked in his waistband.

Grainy, choppy surveillance video showed Loehmann firing two shots within two seconds of his police cruiser skidding to a stop near the boy.

Officials with the city and police union could not immediately be reached for comment. The two officers have been on restricted duty since the shooting and will remain so through an internal police review.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies