Cleveland citizens are trying to force a trial in Tamir Rice case, bypassing prosecutor

Cleveland civic leaders are taking the Tamir Rice shooting death straight to a judge — (Image credit: Angelo Merendino/Getty Images))

On Tuesday morning, community leaders in Cleveland plan to ask a judge to order the arrest of the officers who killed Tamir West, a black 12-year-old shot dead in November while carrying a fake gun outside a park. Under a little-used Ohio law, people with "knowledge of the facts" can file affidavits with the court and request a hearing, circumventing the discretion of local prosecutors and secretive grand juries.

Last week, the Tamir Rice case was handed to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, who will decide whether to put it before a grand jury. The mostly black leaders point to the lack of indictment in several high-profile cases where police shot or otherwise killed unarmed black men. "The writing is on the wall," Walter Madison, a lawyer for Rice's family, told The New York Times. "If you look at every other instance, it ends up unfavorable to the families."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.