Tamir Rice: Activists ask judge to order arrest of officers who shot and killed 12-year-old boy

The campaigners tried a little-used legal manoeuvre to get the judge to act

Activists in Cleveland have tried a rarely used legal manoeuvre to force the arrest of two police officers involved in the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

The activists on Tuesday utilised what is known as an “affidavit of person having knowledge of offence”, and sought to persuade a judge to order the arrest of the two officers.

The move relates to widely distributed security camera footage of the shooting of the boy last November and shows officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback dispatched to a Cleveland park where Tamir was playing with a pellet gun. Within two seconds of stopping, Mr Loehmann, a rookie officer, shot him. Tamir died the next day.

The shooting of Tamir Rice sparked protests in Cleveland and other US cities (Getty)

NBC said that the activists signed the affidavit, saying, in effect, that they had seen what happened and were empowered by a rarely used Ohio law to accuse the officers of aggravated murder.

In a news conference outside the county courthouse, they cited the case of Michael Brelo, a Cleveland officer who was acquitted of manslaughter last month in the shooting deaths of two unarmed occupants of a car. The case was tried by Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty, who is also handling the Tamir Rice case.

A probe into the shooting of the youngster was last week handed over to prosecutors. They in turn will ask a grand jury to decide whether or not, criminal charges should be filed.

“As citizens we have to do our best to get justice,” said RA Vernon, a pastor at The Word Church and one of those who signed the affidavit.

Tamir Rice was shot moments after police arrived at the park where he was playing (youtube.com)

Michael Nelson, a lawyer who leads the criminal justice committee of the Cleveland National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, filed the motion.

He said the move was not an attempt to circumvent the grand jury process, just a way to take advantage of all available legal avenues.

“What you see here today is one of the most American things I’ve seen in my life,” Mr Nelson told NBC. “The people have decided to take the opportunity to make the government work for them.”

No members of Tamir’s family, nor the family’s lawyer, signed the affidavit. They have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officers.

The motion will be handled by an administrative judge, who will assign it to a judge who will hold a hearing on it.