UPDATED -- 8:22 p.m. EST
A grand jury decided not to charge two officers who were involved in the fatal 2014 shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty announced on Monday.
Video of the incident shows that Rice, who was black, was fatally shot by a white Cleveland officer named Timothy Loehmann on Nov. 22, just after Loehmann stepped out of his police car. Rice had been playing with a toy gun at a park.
The grand jury began meeting in October to decide whether to criminally charge Loehmann or officer Frank Garmback, who was driving the police car.
BREAKING: Grand jury declines to bring charges against police officers who killed #TamirRice - prosecutor pic.twitter.com/oCospPJVGS— Mashable News (@MashableNews) December 28, 2015
Loehmann started working with the Cleveland Police Department after he resigned from the police force in Independence, Ohio, following an emotional breakdown during firearms training. A fellow officer had suggested firing Loehmann from his job in Independence.
Loehmann said he warned Rice to put the toy down, though he shot Rice less than one second after exiting the vehicle.
A 911 caller had said that Rice's gun was likely a fake, and that the boy was likely a juvenile, though the dispatcher didn't tell Garmback and Loehmann any of that information.
Prosecutor: It's a "very significant legal fact" that officers responded to incorrect information, but not indictable (in his view).— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) December 28, 2015
"The Supreme Court instructs us to judge an officer by what he or she knew in the moment," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said in a press conference on Monday. "The law gives the benefit of the doubt to the officers."
McGinty said officers made mistakes that led to the fatal shooting, but that those mistakes did not add up to a crime. He also suggested that Rice's family might find "some of the justice they deserve" in civil court.
Prosecutors also compared Rice's toy with a real gun, saying that the two are hard to distinguish.
Tamir's gun (toy) vs. actual Colt M1911... #TamirRice pic.twitter.com/b7pc0sIMHD— Corrina Pysa (@CorrinaPysa) December 28, 2015
Neither Rice's family nor their lawyer were likely surprised by the lack of charges.
“This is apparently how long it takes to engineer denying justice to a family when the video of the incident clearly illustrates probable cause to charge the officer,” Rice family lawyer Subodh Chandra said earlier this week.
Statement from the attorneys for the family of Tamir Rice https://t.co/uIIe8kk1DG pic.twitter.com/Kbc3UaiBQB— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) December 28, 2015
Rice's family has long felt that prosecutors in the case have been doing all they can to make sure officers aren't charged.
Statement from #TamirRice family says McGinty's handling of case has "compounded the grief" pic.twitter.com/QJh0RkiuEc— Oliver Laughland (@oliverlaughland) December 28, 2015
"It has been clear for months now that Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty was abusing and manipulating the grand jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment," Rice's family said in a statement. "Even though video shows police shooting Tamir in less than one second, prosecutor McGinty hired so-called expert witnesses to try to exonerate the officers and tell the grand jury their conduct was reasonable and justified."
Samaria Rice, Tamir's mother, later released a statement saying she will "refuse to let his legacy or his name be ignored."
I don’t want my child to have died for nothing and I refuse to let his legacy or his name be ignored. We will continue to fight for justice for him, and for all families who must live with the pain that we live with.
Statement from Tamir Rice's mother https://t.co/uIIe8kk1DG pic.twitter.com/fogWOXo8mn— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) December 28, 2015
Protesters marched throughout parts of New York City on Monday evening in solidarity with Tamir. A large group congested a busy intersection at Broadway and Canal Street, then made their way across downtown Manhattan.
Shutting down Broadway and Canal in #NYC for #TamirRice! #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/rfYiFPF17I— JamesFromTheInternet (@JamesFTInternet) December 29, 2015
The massive police presence following the #TamirRice march in #NY https://t.co/bmlgi11bnG— StopMotionsolo (@StopMotionsolo) December 29, 2015
Protesters then made their way over the Brooklyn Bridge, chanting "March on with no fear! We do this for Tamir!"
About to cross the Brooklyn Bridge in #NYC for #TamirRice solidarity march pic.twitter.com/iWSIr7kfhm— JamesFromTheInternet (@JamesFTInternet) December 29, 2015
#NYC: #TamirRice response march on the Brooklyn Bridge! #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/AnLtzd9IsS— Ash J (@AshAgony) December 29, 2015
The Department of Justice is still conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting, and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said the city will conduct an administrative review of its own.