Cleveland To Pay Tamir Rice's Family $6 Million

Rice was 12 years old when he was killed by a police officer.

The city of Cleveland on Monday settled a federal lawsuit brought by the family of Tamir Rice for $6 million.

Rice, 12, was shot dead by police officer Timothy Loehmann in 2014 while he was playing with a pellet gun in a park.

In the order issued Monday, Judge Solomon Oliver broke the settlement down:

* The City of Cleveland will pay $3 million in 2016 and $3 million in 2017.

* Tamir Rice's estate will receive $5.5 million.

* Samaria Rice, his mother, will receive $250,000.

* Rice's sister, Tajai, will receive $250,000, Cleveland.com reported. She was identified in court records as T.R.

The Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department conducted a criminal investigation against the two officers, but a grand jury ultimately declined to charge them. At the time, Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty said the incident was the "perfect storm of human error" that did not rise to the level of criminality.

McGinty also said that the 12-year-old boy looked "older" than he was.

The shooting led to nation-wide protests against police tactics used on black men, including the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

Attorney Subodh Chandra released a statement Monday on behalf of the Rice family saying no amount of money can adequately compensate for the loss of a life.

"In a situation such as this, there is no such thing as closure or justice," the statement reads. "Nothing will bring Tamir back. His unnecessary and premature death leaves a gaping hole for those who knew and loved him that can never be filled."

The amount the Rice family will receive is in line with settlements from other police-involved deaths. Last year, Chicago paid $5 million to the family of Laquan McDonald and the city of Baltimore agreed to pay $6.4 million to Freddie Gray's family.

In a statement, the president of the Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association, the union that represent's the city's officers, said the Rice family should "use a portion of this settlement to help educate the youth of Cleveland in the dangers associated with the mishandling of both real and facsimile firearms."

"Something positive must come from this tragic loss. That would be educating youth of the dangers of possessing a real or replica firearm," Stephen Loomis, union president, said.

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