In November, Cleveland Officer Timothy Loehmann fired the fatal shots at Tamir within two seconds of arriving outside a recreation center where the sixth-grader was playing with a pellet gun.
In the 41-page response to the family’s lawsuit filed Friday, the city says that Tamir’s injuries “were directly and proximately caused by the failure of Plaintiffs’ decedent to exercise due care to avoid injury.” The response further says that “Plaintiffs’ decedent’s injuries, losses, and damages complained of, were directly and proximately caused by the acts of Plaintiffs’ decedent, not this Defendant.”
The city also claims it is entitled to all “full and qualified” immunities under state and federal law.
As to the scores of other allegations in the lawsuit, the city responds by saying that they are untrue, that the independent investigation by Cuyahoga County is still going on, or that the city “is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth.”
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“There is nothing written anywhere in the law that says police officers are to be treated differently from any other citizen,” Crump said. “We cannot have children playing cops and robbers on a playground and police officers coming and claiming their lives.”
Loehmann and Garmback have been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia, Catherine E. Shoichet and Vivian Kuo contributed to this report.
