The City of Cleveland, the Cleveland Police department and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor have all dragged their feet for months, delaying completion of the "alleged" investigation into the actions of the two police officers who gunned down 12 year old Tamir Rice last year. Now, a group of clergy and civil rights activists, unwilling to wait for the proper authorities to do the right thing, have filed affidavits with the Cleveland Municipal Court, seeking the issuance by a judge of an arrest warrant for Officers Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann for the murder of Tamir. They are relying on a little used law passed in 1960 that allows citizens to obtain the issuance of an arrest warrant from a local judge when the prosecuting attorney has failed to act.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A group of community leaders, clergy and civil rights activists on Tuesday plan to announce they've filed affidavits seeking charges against two Cleveland police officers involved in the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.The group, which includes the rev. Jawanza Colvin from Olivet Institutional Baptist Church and Case Western Reserve University professor Rhonda Williams, will hold an 11 a.m. press conference to announce the filing. [...]
The law, passed in 1960, allows any person with knowledge of the facts of a case to file sworn affidavits asking a judge to find probable cause to sign off an arrest warrant.
"We are still waiting for the criminal justice system to enact justice in the name of Tamir Rice. It has been more than six months since his tragic death and, yet, the people still have no answers and no one has been held accountable," Colvin said in a Tuesday press release. "Today, citizens are taking matters into their own hands utilizing the tools of democracy as an instrument of justice."
The reaction of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association is sadly predictable:
President Steve Loomis called the activists' effort "mob rule." The association is the union for patrol officers."It is very sad how miserable the lives of these self-appointed 'activists, civil right leaders and clergy' must be," Loomis said in a statement. "I can't imagine being so very consumed with anger and hatred."
"Civilized society cannot permit the rule of law to be subverted by mob rule," Loomis said. "Trying to coerce public officials into filing a criminal charge under direct/indirect threat of mob rule is a very dangerous game."
That's funny. The only group I've heard accused of employing the tactics of "mob rule" recently were the Cleveland Police - by the US Department of Justice.
Our investigation concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that CDP engages in a pattern or practice of using unreasonable force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. That pattern manifested in a range of ways, including:Since when do citizens constitute a mob simply because they avail themselves of every legal means available to bring the killers of an innocent 12 year old boy to justice? I suppose only when they are black clergy and social activists, the victim is black and the alleged murderers are white police officers.• The unnecessary and excessive use of deadly force, including shootings and head strikes
with impact weapons;• The unnecessary, excessive or retaliatory use of less lethal force including tasers, chemical spray and fists;
• Excessive force against persons who are mentally ill or in crisis, including in cases where the officers were called exclusively for a welfare check; and
• The employment of poor and dangerous tactics that place officers in situations where avoidable force becomes inevitable and places officers and civilians at unnecessary risk.
Meanwhile, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office, in whose hands the case now rests, continues to tell people that they will release their findings real soon - pinky swear:
"Once the investigation is complete -- and in the death of Tamir Rice, it is not at this time -- all evidence and expert analysis will be presented to the Grand Jury," McGinty's spokesman, Joe Frolik, said. "The Grand Jury in Cuyahoga County, by the policy of the County Prosecutor's Office, ultimately makes the charging decision in all fatal use of deadly force cases that involve law enforcement officers."I'm with Rev. Jawanza Colvin, it's long past time for this investigation to have been wrapped up and justice to be served with the arrest and criminal indictment of Frank Gormback and Timothy Loehmann. How many times does one have to watch that video of Tamir being shot point blank to know a crime has been committed by two out-of- control cops?Frolik said his office plans to release the contents of the Tamir Rice investigation "fairly soon," once medical and personal information is redacted.