Newly released footage confirms the claim of Tamir Rice’s mother, Samaria Rice, who has perviously said that her daughter was handcuffed as the teen tried to check on her 12-year-old brother after he was fatally shot by officer Timothy Loehmann. The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports that the Cleveland Police Department fought their request for extended video of the shooting’s aftermath (a recording of the shooting itself was released in November), and it’s easy to understand why.
In the first two minutes of the extended 30-minute video, you can see Tamir’s 14-year-old sister running toward the him while he lies wounded behind the squad car belonging to Loehmann and partner Frank Garmback. One of the cops (identified as Garmback by NOMG) intercepts her and shoves her to the ground. He moves away as Loehmann comes over and struggles with the teen. A person who appears to be another officer then joins Loehmann, and the girl is eventually handcuffed and dragged into the vehicle. This all happens during the four minutes Loehmann and Garmback spent not trying to give medical aid to Tamir, who died hours later at a hospital.
“This has to be the cruelest thing I’ve ever seen,” said the Rice family’s attorney, Walter Madison. The investigation into the incident, which was recently handed over to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, is ongoing.
