Wednesday, Cleveland officials released extended video footage of the incident which lead to the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by a Cleveland officer. The video also shows police tackling Tamir’s 14-year-old sister to the ground as she tried to rush to her dying brother’s aid.
When his sister heard the shots, she ran toward the gazebo. Officer Garmback wrestled her to the ground. He then handcuffed her and put her to the back of the police car, the Plain Dealer reported.
“This has to be the cruelest thing I’ve ever seen,” the family’s attorney, Walter Madison, told the newspaper.
Watch police tackle Tamir’s 14-year-old sister beginning at about 01:42
The city had initially been reluctant to release any footage and only gave in when the Northeast Ohio Media Group hired an attorney to pursue the matter.
The first video footage released showed a police cruiser with Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann inside as it slid toward the gazebo on the snow-covered grass.
Rice lifted his shirt to reveal the handle of an airsoft gun as Loehmann jumped out of the passenger seat. Loehmann fired two shots at Rice, hitting him once in the stomach. Loehmann slid in the mud.
The whole thing happened in only about two seconds.
However, the Ohio Media Group kept pressing for a full 90 minutes of footage, which the officials would not release because it was part of “an open and ongoing investigation.”
Now, the city has agreed to release 30 minutes of video. “After consultation with the Legal Department and Cleveland Police, the City of Cleveland has decided that the entire video file available from Cudell recreation center regarding the Tamir Rice incident is not investigatory record and therefore releasable,” said city spokesman Daniel Williams