Expert Says 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Had His Hands in His Pockets When Shot by Police

A year later, and the family is still seeking justice.

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Complex Original

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Less than a month ago, people stood in solidarity with Tamir Rice's family as they mourned the one year anniversary of Tamir's death. The 12-year-old boy was shot on Nov. 22, 2014 by an officer after two Cleveland police officers arrived on the scene who allegedly thought Rice's toy gun was a real one. An expert, hired by Rice's family, has reportedly discovered that Tamir had his hands in his pocket when he was shot.

CBS has reported that according to a statement released by Tamir's family's attorneys, "Tamir's hands were not visible to the officer." An expert who reviewed the surveillance camera footage concluded that Tamir didn't have enough time to remove his hands from his pockets when the officer fired his weapon.

As a reminder of what happened a year ago, two police officers, Tim Loehmann and Frank Garmback, received a report that a man was pointing a gun around at a local Cleveland park. As soon as the officers arrived at the scene, the rookie officer Loehmann stepped out of the car and within seconds shot the 12-year-old boy.

Jesse Wobrock, a California-based shooting reconstruction expert claimed, "The scientific analysis and timing involved do not support any claim that there was a meaningful exchange between Officer Loehmann and Tamir Rice before he was shot." The latest analysis conducted by Wobrock determines that Loehmann shot Tamir in less than a second, according to CBS

"The location of a bullet hole in Tamir's jacket with the location of the wound on his body indicated that the boy had lifted his arm – with his hand in his pocket – at the moment he was shot," Wobrock said. CBS noted that Wobrock will be available and able to testify before a grand jury.

A year later, Tamir's family is still seeking justice.

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