Cleveland transfers Tamir Rice investigation to Cuyahoga County

The lawyers for the youth’s family said they they are “cautiously optimistic” about the change.

“The Rice family hopes that this investigation yields information about why Cleveland Police failed to conduct a background check with the Independence Police Department before hiring Officer Timothy Loehmann.” said lawyers Benjamin Crump, Walter Madison and Daryl Parks.

CNN’s Sarah Jorgensen contributed to this report.

CNN