Video Shows Police Shoot Boy Who Had Fake Gun

Cleveland police have released audio and CCTV footage from the moment an officer shot dead a 12-year-old boy carrying a replica handgun.

Tamir Rice died on 23 November, a day after he was shot by police responding to 911 calls about someone with a gun at a Cleveland playground.

Surveillance cameras from a nearby recreation centre captured footage of Tamir walking around the park and brandishing what turned out to be an airsoft gun that fired plastic pellets.

The footage shows a police cruiser pulling up next to Tamir, and within seconds of the officers exiting the vehicle one of them opens fire on the boy.

Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said the officers ordered the boy to put his hands up three times.

Tamir pulled up his shirt with one hand and reached for his waistband with the other before the officer fired, the deputy chief said.

"Shots fired. Male down. Black male, maybe 20," an officer can be heard saying over police dispatch.

Tamir's family urged police and prosecutors to"thoroughly examine" what happened.

"It is our belief that this situation could have been avoided and that Tamir should still be here with us," a statement by the family said.

"The video shows one thing distinctly: the police officers reacted quickly."

The footage was released at the request of the boy's parents.

Deputy Chief Tomba said it was not meant to "exonerate" or condemn anyone.

"This is an obvious tragic event where a young member of our community lost their life," he said.

"We've got two officers that were out there protecting the public that just had to, you know, do something that nobody wants to do."

Both officers, identified as 26-year-old Timothy Loehman and 46-year-old Frank Garmback, remain on administrative leave.

Deputy Chief Tomba said the investigation into the shooting was ongoing and all evidence will be handed over to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.

The shooting has led to calls for legislation that would require all replica guns, including airsoft or BB guns, to be brightly coloured .