CLEVELAND -- The two Cleveland policemen involved in the shooting of Tamir Rice say they shouted repeated commands at the 12-year-old boy prior to shooting him. But is it feasible to issue as many commands as they claim?
As the police cruiser slid to a stop at the Cudell Recreation Center, Officer Tim Loehmann says he yelled the command, "Show me your hands," as loudly as he could. His partner, Officer Frank Garmback, who believed the car's windows were closed, said he also shouted the same command.
The officers say they continued to yell, "Show me your hands" when Tamir reached down into his waistband. When they said Tamir pulled the gun out of his waistband, they were still yelling, "Show me your hands."
SPECIAL SECTION | Tamir Rice shooting
That's at least four times they shouted the command. Arguably, that's a conservative number based on their version of what happened.
A police expert said Loehmann shot Tamir within 1.7 seconds of leaving the police vehicle. Is it conceivable to shout four or more times in that brief period of time? Channel 3 News Investigator Tom Meyer gave it a try.
It took Meyer 3.4 seconds to shout the command four times. Keep in mind, the two officers were barking the command at a 12-year-old boy. Could their commands even be understood at such a rapid rate of speech?
TIMELINE | Events in Tamir Rice case
The Rice family believes that no verbal commands were issued, and Tamir had no time to act in the two seconds before Loehmann fired.
But the officers believed they were dealing with an adult with a real gun, not a child with a pellet gun.
Police are often forced to make life and death decisions in a split second. They are trained to react quickly, while keeping in mind all the rules on the use of deadly force.
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It's a dilemma for police. The grand jury investigating the shooting has taken weeks to review evidence in the case. Loehmann and Garmback had to decide in a split second whether to kill or be killed.
Police experts have been divided on whether the shooting was reasonable.
A grand jury decision is expected by the end of the year.
WATCH | Tamir Rice shooting video
