Cleveland mayor apologizes for $500 bill sent to estate of slain 12-year-old Tamir Rice

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said he was sorry for "any grief or pain" caused by the city sending a bill to the estate of Tamir Rice for medical services rendered to the 12-year-old after he was fatally shot by a police officer.

On Wednesday, the city filed a claim in probate court for $500, which it said was for an ambulance ride and medical treatment Rice received after he was shot in November 2014. Rice was holding an airsoft replica gun in a Cleveland park when he was shot and killed by the officer. The city's finance director said Cleveland did not send a bill to the Rice family, and does not plan to. The claim was a "routine" part of the probate process, she said, and the estate asked for such bills to identify potential creditors, NBC News reports.

The city's chief corporate counsel said since it was a routine matter, city leaders were not notified of the filing, and the claim will be withdrawn. It was a "mistake of us not flagging it, but it was not a mistake in terms of the legal process," Jackson said. The Rice family did not accept the explanation, and said the incident was "deeply disturbing."

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