Cleveland mayor apologizes for filing of Tamir Rice bill
![Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson apologized to the family of Tamir Rice on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, for the city seeking to collect $500 in ambulance fees for Tamir after he was fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer in November 2014.](/https/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/1cb12f9af5906e5c2eed0df6db2b3e6e59aec9f5/c=0-5-642-368/local/-/media/2016/02/12/USATODAY/USATODAY/635908583926869856-cleveland-mayor-021216.jpg?width=642&height=363&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
CLEVELAND — After the disclosure that the city of Cleveland filed a claim in probate court to collect the remainder of an outstanding bill for a 12-year-old boy's ambulance ride after he was shot by Cleveland police, people across the nation were asking how this could happen.
Tamir Rice, who was carrying a pellet gun, was shot by Officer Timothy Loehmann within 2 seconds of arriving at a recreation center Nov. 22, 2014, in the western part of Cleveland. Loehmann was responding to a 911 call of a boy waving a gun in the park. Tamir was black; Loehmann is white.
On Wednesday, Assistant Law Director Carl Meyer filed a creditor's claim in Cuyahoga County Probate Court asking that the city be reimbursed for the emergency services Tamir received in 2014, including $450 for "ambulance advance life support" and $50 for mileage, the claim said.
On Thursday, there was outrage as the Internet exploded with headlines suggesting the city's behavior was outrageous.
City to withdraw $500 Tamir Rice ambulance claim
A tweet from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the bill "heartless."
City officials say it was an honest blunder. There was no intent to do any harm, but the damage may lie in public perception.
On Thursday, the mayor apologized for the second time for a seemingly insensitive filing by the city's law department.
The first time, city lawyers used blunt language, basically blaming Tamir's actions for his own death.
On Thursday, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said, I "apologize to the Rice family if this has added to any grief or pain they may have had. ... There was never a bill sent to the Rice family. There was never any intent to send a bill."
So what happened?
Things were handled according to the standards of an ordinary case.
But anything involving the Tamir Rice episode is extraordinary and requires extra scrutiny.
"I was unhappy and I think my people understood my unhappiness. ... It wasn't a pleasant conversation the first time and it won't be a pleasant conversation going forward," Jackson said.
The city received partial payment of $500 from Medicaid. It closed the case and wrote off the remainder as a loss.
Tamir Rice protesters take to streets in Cleveland
Then the lawyer representing Tamir's estate asked the city to send him the bill for ambulance services.
That triggered an automatic filing in probate court. By law, the city is obligated to help Medicaid recover money spent from other sources.
City Law Director Barbara Langhenry and Finance Director Sharon Dumas oversee the departments involved.
The mayor said he needed more time to analyze how the incident happened before determining whether discipline or punishment was appropriate.
"I could tell you 'yes' and throw somebody under the bus or fire somebody. ... If somebody has done something negligent or intentional, we will handle it. ... If it's just somebody doing their job who didn't take the extra step, that's something else," he explained.
The city is withdrawing the claim.
The mayor promised to make sure safeguards and checks and balances are installed to prevent this from happening again. He made similar statements after his first apology.
Asked about the possibility of settling an outstanding federal civil suit filed by Tamir's mother Jackson said, "We will work toward a settlement if, in fact, we believe it is fair to all parties."
Contributing: Hilary Goldston, WKYC-TV, Cleveland. Follow Tom Beres on Twitter: @TomBeres
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