Tamir Rice shooting: Prosecutor releases yet another "expert opinion."
Source: The Guardian
Policeman who shot dead Tamir Rice acted 'reasonably', says expert
Victim’s family angry as county prosecutor accused of dripping expert opinions
before grand jury investigation into Cleveland killing completed
Oliver Laughland and Jamiles Lartey in New York
Friday 13 November 2015 16.32 GMT
The prosecutor investigating the fatal police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice has released another expert opinion which describes the actions of the officer involved as “objectively reasonable”.
The new expert opinion, written by W Ken Katsaris, a veteran law enforcement trainer from Florida, also argues that while Rice’s death in November 2014 was a “tragedy”, it would “also be a tragedy” if officer Timothy Loehmann lost his job.
Rice, who was playing with a toy pellet gun in a park in Cleveland, Ohio was shot dead by Loehmann less than two seconds after he was encountered by police. The incident sparked outcry around the US and the continued delay on a decision over whether to prosecute Loehmann has also drawn widespread criticism.
The Katsaris opinion is the third to be released by Cuyahoga county attorney Timothy McGinty. All three opinions have argued that Loehmann was justified in using lethal lethal force against Rice, but questions about the impartiality of the first two experts have subsequently been raised.
Lawyers for the Rice family told the Guardian that McGinty’s decision to continue to drip feed expert opinions before the grand jury process was completed was a “complete evil misuse” of the process.
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Read more:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/13/policeman-who-shot-dead-tamir-rice-acted-reasonably-says-expert