Two Cleveland police officers involved in the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice have given statements to investigators in which they say they thought the pellet gun he was carrying was a real gun, NBC News reported.
Officer Timothy Loehmann and the officer who was training him, Frank Garmback, said they were responding to a call about a man waving a gun outside a recreation center on Nov. 22, 2014, and saw the boy reach into his waistband.
Loehmann fired on Tamir twice but Garmback, who was driving, did not shoot. Tamir had an airsoft-type pistol that resembled a real firearm, police have said. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office released the signed statements Tuesday.
