Tuesday, June 9, 2015

The Courage of The Collective--Community Leaders Seek Justice for Tamir Rice


The Courage of The Collective. Without Community, there is no Liberation. Justice for Tamir Rice. 

A group of community leaders, clergy and civil rights activists on Tuesday plan to announce they've filed affidavits seeking charges against two Cleveland police officers involved in the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.
The group, led by the Rev. Jawanza K. Colvin and Case Western Reserve University professor Rhonda Williams, plans to use an obscure state law that allows citizens with knowledge of the facts of a case to compel a judge to issue an arrest warrant.
The group is expected to file several affidavits Tuesday seeking charges of murder and manslaughter against officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback for their roles in the Nov. 22 shooting outside Cudell Recreation Center. The move is an attempt to sidestep Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty who will present the case to a grand jury, a process that could take weeks.

Community leaders and attorneys for Tamir's family have complained about the length of the investigation, now nearing its sixth month. The investigation was turned over to McGinty's office just last week after the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department announced it had completed an independent fact-gathering investigation.