Cleveland blames 12-year-old Tamir Rice after police killed him

Tamir Rice is "directly" to blame for his shooting death at the hands of police, according to the city of Cleveland.

Responding to a lawsuit over Rice's death, the city claimed the incident was "directly and proximately caused by the failure of [Rice] to exercise due care to avoid injury." Brought by Rice's family, the suit faulted the police and city officials for the fatal November shooting in which officers killed Rice as he held a toy gun on a Cleveland playground.

In December, the Justice Department accused Cleveland's police of engaging in a pattern of "unreasonable and unnecessary use of force."

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