Tamir Rice's Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

The suit seeks monetary damages.

Image via nbcnews.com

On Nov. 22, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed in Cleveland after police officer Tim Loehmann mistook his toy gun for a real one. Today, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against against the city, Loehmann, and his partner. 

Rice was killed after Loehmann opened fire just two seconds after his police cruiser stopped near Rice. Loehmann's father has said that his son insisted that he felt as though he had "no choice" but to shoot Rice. According to the Associated Press, in addition to claiming that Loehmann and Frank Garmback behaved recklessly, the suit alleges that it took four minutes before either of them sought medical attention for Rice:  

Young boys playing with replica guns are commonplace in America and police are expected to approach them safely if an investigation is warranted, not shoot them dead within two seconds," said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court. It seeks unspecified monetary damages. Tamir was alone and not pointing the pellet gun at anyone when the officers arrived, the lawsuit said.

This comes a day after the Department of Justice released a 58-page report which found that the Cleveland Police Department was poorly trained and resorted to excessive force too often. 

[via Associated Press]

Latest in Pop Culture