Sheriff: Probe of Cleveland police shooting of Tamir Rice, 12, nears end
CLEVELAND - A sheriff says detectives have completed most of their investigation into a Cleveland police officer's fatal shooting of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy killed while carrying a pellet gun in November 2014.
Cuyahoga County Sheriff Clifford Pinkney said Tuesday that investigators still have a few more witnesses to interview.
The sheriff's office agreed in January to take over the investigation.
Rookie patrolman Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir within seconds of a police cruiser pulling up next to the boy. Loehmann and his partner were responding to a 911 call about a black male pointing a gun at people outside a recreation center, also saying the gun is "probably fake."
Tamir, a black boy, was carrying an Airsoft-type gun that shoots nonlethal plastic pellets. The shooting by the white officer intensified the focus on police treatment of African-Americans and spurred protests around Cleveland.