CLEVELAND — Cleveland Mayor-elect Justin Bibb is calling on the Biden administration to reopen the Department of Justice’s investigation into the 2014 death of Tamir Rice who was shot and killed by Cleveland Police. 

What You Need To Know

  • Cleveland Mayor-elect Justin Bibb is asking President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice to reopen a civil rights probe into the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice

  • Rice died on Nov. 22, 2014 in a Cleveland park after being shot by a Cleveland Police officer

  • Rice was carrying a toy gun at the time he was wounded

  • The DOJ, under then President Donald Trump, dropped the investigation in December 2020 citing a lack of evidence that Rice’s rights were violated

Bibb’s announcement on Monday follows a resolution approved unanimously by Cleveland City Council in May. 

Bibb’s announcement also came on the seventh anniversary of Rice’s death. 

The previous DOJ probe looked at whether “a law enforcement officer acted willfully to deprive an individual of a federally protected right. The right implicated in this matter is the Fourth Amendment right to be free from an unreasonable seizure.”

According to the DOJ, on Nov. 22, 2014, Rice was playing with a toy black airsoft pistol gun outside a recreation center in Cleveland. He was shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann seconds after Loehmann and his partner, Officer Frank Garmback, arrived. The officers had been dispatched to the recreation center after someone called 911 to report that a “guy” was pointing a gun at people. 

Officials said a caller told a 911 dispatcher that it was probably a juvenile and the gun was "probably fake,” though that was never relayed to the officers.

The Trump administration announced in December 2020 that the case was closed.

“After extensive examination of the facts in this tragic event, career Justice Department prosecutors have concluded that the evidence is insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Loehmann willfully violated Tamir Rice’s constitutional rights, or that Officers Loehmann or Garmback obstructed justice,” the DOJ wrote on Dec. 29, 2020.

Bibb and Rice’s mother Samaria Rice were among those who pushed for Issue 24’s passage earlier this month. With Issue 24’s victory, a Community Police Commission will be formed, which in conjunction with the Civilian Police Review Board, will oversee police conduct investigations and discipline.

"It’s disgusting that they get to walk around like nothing has happened and go accordingly with their lives as peoples lives are destroyed," Samaria Rice told Spectrum News 1 reporter Jenna Jordan.

Rice said on Tuesday she was thankful for Bibb's request.

“I just thank him for that," she said. "Thank him for being honest. Thank him for wanting to see change in Cleveland. And thank him for knowing that this family deserves justice” 

Bibb will take office in January, replacing four-term Mayor Frank Jackson. Bibb’s election was officially certified by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections on Monday. 

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