In a press conference Monday morning, Samaria Rice addressed the public for the first time since the death of her son Tamir Rice in November.
According to BuzzFeed, Samaria said she was unaware of the fatal shooting until two boys knocked on her door to inform her that Tamir had been shot. She also said her daughter, who witnessed the altercation, was tackled and placed in handcuffs by the police. When she arrived on the scene, she found the 14-year-old in the backseat of a patrol car.
When Samaria arrived and saw her youngest child shot and her daughter in the back of a police car, police officers warned her that if she didn’t calm down, she’d be placed in the police vehicle as well.
“Tamir was a bright child,” Rice said. “He had a promising future. He was very talented in all sports and he was just a wonderful kid. Everybody loved him. He was my baby.”
Surveillance from the park near the Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland was released earlier this month and showed Tamir’s final moments. After seeing Tamir playing with a toy pellet gun, a bystander called 911. Police arrived on the scene, and opened fire on the 12-year-old almost immediately.
Ms. Rice hopes to see a conviction for Tim Loehmann, the police officer who shot Tamir, however Loehmann’s father recently spoke out about the incident, claiming his son didn’t have a choice but to shoot the child. Attorney Benjamin Crump, who also represented Trayvon Martin’s parents, says the family is worried Loehmann might walk away from the shooting due to recent non-indictments in the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases.
“The family is focused on getting justice for Tamir,” Crump said on GMA. “They’re very concerned because they look at what happened in the [Eric] Garner case, where there was no indictment when a man was choked on video … They are very concerned about local prosecution.”
The Rice family has officially filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Loehmann, responding officer Frank Garmback, and the City of Cleveland for alleged assault, battery, and the use of excessive force.
SOURCE: BuzzFeed | VIDEO CREDIT: News Inc.
