Cleveland Police Use Unreasonable Force Says Justice Department

Police in Cleveland have been found to engage in “unreasonable and unnecessary force,” said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, reporting on a Justice Department investigation Thursday.

The investigation into the police department began in March 2013, but its conclusion is especially relevant after a Cleveland police officer shot dead 12-year-old Tamir Rice, a Black boy who was carrying what turned out to be a toy gun in a playground.

Despite the grand jury not indicting either of the police officers involved in the murder, video footage showed that the policemen's account of the incident did not correspond with the filmed events.

The officers claim that Rice was joined by a group of people and that they repeatedly told him to put down his gun. That claim is contradicted by the video shows Rice was alone and the policemen opened fire in 2 seconds upon arriving to the scene.

Eric Holder is due to visit Cleveland Friday.