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Cleveland city officials have asked the family of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed while carrying a toy gun, to drop their civil suit against the city until the official investigation has ended.
According to the Washington Post, city lawyers sent a written request saying delaying the lawsuit will protect the two officers involved in the shooting from making statements now, before knowing if they’ll be charged.
Today, the family responded saying they cannot wait any longer.
The family, who has yet to bury Tamir in case more evidence needs to be collected from his body, said they believe if they wait crucial evidence might be lost. In addition, the fact that the investigation has been dragging on for so long is causing them even more stress.
A family released a motion stating that, “The incident has shattered the life of the Rice family. In particular, Samaria Rice, Tamir Rice’s mother, has since been forced to move to a homeless shelter because she could no longer live next door to the killing field of her son.”
It’s been five months since Tamir was killed in November and no one has been charged and no one has been held accountable for his death.
You can listen to remarks from the press conference in the video below.
If you’ve like to support Samaria Rice or her family financially, with cards or words of encouragement, you can learn more about how to do so, here.
