Rice Family Says Death At Hands Of Cleveland Police Could Have Been Avoided

The family of a 12-year-old Cleveland boy fatally shot by a police officer responding to a call about someone with a gun last weekend says officers acted too quickly and his death could've been avoided. A statement released Wednesday evening by attorneys for the family of Tamir Rice says relatives have viewed a surveillance video of the shooting. It shows rice carrying an airsoft gun that shoots non-lethal plastic pellets. Police say the officer who shot him fired within 2 seconds of pulling up in his cruiser. The family says it hopes police and prosecutors thoroughly examine the shooting. It asks for the community to remain calm and protest peacefully. Police say two officers told Rice show his hands three times before he was shot.  Police officials identify the officers as 26-year-old Timothy Loehmann and 46-year-old Frank Garmback.  Police say Rice was told to raise his hands three times, then reached into his waistband for what appeared to be a firearm.