Cleveland mayor-elect Justin Bibb calls for DOJ to reopen federal Tamir Rice investigation

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The mayor-elect of Cleveland is calling on the Department of Justice to reopen their investigation into the shooting death of Tamir Rice on the seventh anniversary of the 12-year-olds killing.

"Seven years ago, Tamir Rice was killed while playing with a toy gun," Bibb wrote. "I join Cleveland City Council, U.S. Senator @SherrodBrown and others in calling on the Department of Justice to reopen the investigation. Today, we remember Tamir as the quest for justice continues."

Justin Bibb, who won Cleveland's mayoral election on Nov. 2, made the statement Monday evening via Twitter.

Rice, 12, was playing with a toy replica gun when he was fatally shot by then Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann on Nov. 22, 2014.

A video of his killing was widely viewed on the internet and serves as a Rorschach Test of people's beliefs about race and police in the U.S.

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice decided to close a federal investigation into the shooting after investigators "found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges" against Loehmann and another Cleveland police officer Frank Garmback.

Four months later, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), Joyce Beatty (OH-3), and Tim Ryan (OH-13) called on the DOJ to reopen the investigation.

This article was originally published by 19 News on November 22, 2021.