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Tamir Rice

Source: JORDAN GONZALEZ/AFP / Getty Images

Nearly two years after the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice made national headlines, the city of Cleveland, Ohio has filed suit against the boy’s family.

The city claims the Rice family owes $500 for the ambulance and paramedics that tended to the young boy after he was fatally shot by police in November 2014.

Rice was playing with a pellet gun in the park when he was shot by officer Tim LoehmannA grand jury failed to indict Loehmann or his partner Frank Garmback on charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless or negligent homicide.

Here are additional details on the suit via Gawker. “…The city states that the Rice family is responsible “for emergency medical services rendered as the decedent’s last dying expense under Ohio Revised Code.” Broken down, the city is billing Rice’s family $450 for “advance life support” that did not save him and $50 for the mileage driven by the ambulance to the hospital where he died.”

In the aftermath of the shooting, the victims mother, Samaria Rice was enthralled with legal fees and was temporarily forced to move into a homeless shelter.

We previously reported that through the kindness of the Tamir Rice Memorial Fund, and a GoFundMe campaign, over $46,000 has been raised to move Rice into a new home.

One of the Rice family’s attorney’s Subodh Chandra has released a statement expressing the utter shock and disappointment over the nature of the suit:

“That the city would submit a bill and call itself a creditor after having had its own police officers slay 12-year-old Tamir displays a new pinnacle of callousness and insensitivity. The kind of poor judgment that it takes to do such a thing is nothing short of breathtaking.

Who on earth would think this was a good idea and file this on behalf of the city? This adds insult to homicide. The mayor and law director should apologize to the Rice family and withdraw this filing immediately.”

You can read the official court documents below.

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INSENSITIVE: Cleveland Sues Family Of Tamir Rice For Unpaid Ambulance And Paramedics Bill  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com