Video to be released in police shooting of Cleveland boy, 12

CLEVELAND -- The family of a 12-year-old boy shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer has asked investigators to release video of the incident.

The Cleveland Police Department confirmed to 48 Hours' Crimesider that footage showing a rookie officer shooting Tamir Rice on Saturday will be released either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

"The mayor and police chief made clear that they wanted to give the family a chance to review the video first," said Sgt. Ali Pillow, a spokesperson for the Cleveland police department. "They've informed the department, through their representatives, that they want it to be released."

The identity of the police officer who killed Rice will also be released, Pillow said.

Rice's death sparked protests in Cleveland that coincided with nationwide demonstrations related to a grand jury's decision Monday not to indict a white officer who killed Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri.

Hundreds of demonstrators blocked traffic in parts of downtown Cleveland Tuesday, while sitting in a major intersection. They then marched past city hall and chanted in support of Rice's family.

The crowd chanted, "No justice, no peace" and, "Hands up, don't shoot," a rally cry first coined in the days after Brown's August death.

Rice was at a neighborhood playground with friends Saturday, playing with an Airsoft replica gun, which fires the equivalent of BB pellets, when police were called to the scene.

A person who called 911 before the incident noted the gun was "probably fake."

One of the officers called to the playground saw the pistol sitting on a table or bench, and allegedly watched the boy grab it and put it in his waistband.

Police said Rice was ordered to put his hands up, but instead grabbed for his fake gun.

That's when the officer fired, police said. Rice succumbed on Sunday to injuries from the shooting.

During a Monday press conference, Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said the department's Use of Deadly Force Investigation Team will turn its findings over to county prosecutors within 90 days. The video is crucial to the investigation, he said.

"The tape is very clear on what took place," Tomba said.

He added that it shows the officer firing at Rice from within 10 feet.

Charges have not been filed in the case, but two police officers have been placed on three-day administrative leave, after which they'll return on restrictive duty.