Police release full video of shooting of Ohio boy, 12

CLEVELAND - In releasing the 911 calls and the full surveillance video of the confrontation and fatal shooting of a 12-year-old Ohio boy, Cleveland police also identified the police officers involved in the shooting.

Tamir Rice was shot Saturday while brandishing a fake gun outside the Cudell Recreation Center in Cleveland. He died at a hospital the next day.

The compressed video shows the confrontation in stuttered images but lacks sound. Police said it was being released as requested by Tamir's family. Police also released audio of a 911 call reporting a gun and a dispatcher directing officers to the scene.

The caller said the boy was sitting on a swing, pulling a gun in and out of his waistband.

'The guy keeps pulling it out,' the 911 caller said. 'It's probably fake, but you know what, he's scaring the (expletive) out of (inaudible). ... He's sitting on the swing right now, but he keeps pulling it in and out of his pants and pointing it at people. Probably a juvenile, you know? ... I don't know if it's real or not, you know?'

Deputy Cleveland Police Chief Edward Tomba said the release of the video should not be understood as a way to explain the officers' actions or the young man's actions.

'This is not an effort to exonerate. It's not an effort to show the public that anybody did anything wrong,' said Tomba. 'This is an obvious tragic event where a young member of our community lost their life. We've got two officers that were out there protecting the public that just had to, you know, do something that nobody wants to do.'

Tomba refused to comment on what the officers said in their statements, including whether Tamir made any comments to them.

Police identified the responding officers as 26-year-old Timothy Loehman, who was appointed to the force this year and was identified as the officer who fired on Tamir, and 46-year-old Frank Garmback, who's been with the department since 2008.

Police say Tamir was told to raise his hands three times, then reached into his waistband for what appeared to be a firearm.

The gun was later determined to be an 'airsoft'-type pellet gun which lacked the orange safety tip required at the time of sale and was indistinguishable from a real semiautomatic pistol.

Police said Tamir was given first aid less than four minutes after the shooting, and emergency medical personnel arrived three minutes after that.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner said Tamir died from a gunshot wound with 'injuries of major vessel, intestines and pelvis.'

The incident has sparked debates and protests throughout the community.

The city had originally said it was not releasing the video out of concern for Tamir's family and the officers involved. The boy's family originally asked that it not be released but changed their minds.

Representatives of the family said they saw the video Monday and the family asked for its release in its entirety in a statement Tuesday.

The incident has sparked debates and protests throughout the community.

The city had originally said it was not releasing the video out of concern for Rice's family and the officers involved. Rice's family originally asked that it not be released but changed their minds.

Representatives of the family said they saw the video Monday. Tamir's parents, Samaria Rice and Leonard Warner, released a statement Tuesday asking for the video to be released in its entirety. They wrote in part:

'We feel the actions of the patrol officer who took our son's life must be made public.It is our prayer and request for citizens in the City of Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio to remain calm at this time. We ask for the public to demonstrate peacefully.' Contributing: Jane Onyanga-Omara and John Bacon, USA TODAY; news3blog.blogspot.com.

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