WKYC-TV, Cleveland

CLEVELAND — At a news conference Thursday, city officials tried to explain that a court filing seeking payment of $500 for the "last dying expense" of a 12-year-old boy who was shot by a police officer, was not sent to the boy's family.

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 the city. Loehmann was responding to a 911 call of a boy waving a gun in the park. Tamir was black; Loehmann is white.

Tamir was taken to the hospital. He died the next day.

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.

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On Thursday, city officials said they intend to withdraw the city's claim from probate court.

The city has not — and does not intend to bill — Tamir's estate, said Finance Director Sharon Dumas. No claim was generated to the family, she said.

Officials said routine legal procedure led to the $500 EMS billing charge submitted by the city.

"There was no intent and there was no sending of a bill previously or now to the Rice family," said Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. He said, the city closed and absorbed the account of medical bills not covered by Medicaid, which had a cap on its payment.

"A copy of what is owed has been sent to the estate, because they asked for it," Jackson said, reiterating that no bill was sent to the Rice family.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Jackson said there have been other cases when there has been use of force resulting in death in which similar instances occurred.

He said in a high-profile incident such as the Tamir case, the claim should have been identified and flagged. He added that the city will work to figure out how to avoid future instances.

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"It was a mistake of us not flagging it, but it was not a mistake in terms of the legal process," Jackson said.

Wednesday's filing said the money is "past due and owing for emergency medical services rendered as the decedent's last dying expense."

The 12-year-old's death resonated around the country as it came on the heels of the officer-involved shooting death of Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Mo., in August 2014.

In December, a grand jury declined to indict the officers involved in the shooting, after Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty recommended the officers not be charged.

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On Wednesday, the Rice family attorney said this claim is a slap in the face.

"The Rice family is disturbed by the city's behavior," Subodh Chandra, the Rice family attorney, wrote in a statement. "The callousness, insensitivity, and poor judgment required for the city to send a bill — its own police officers having slain 12-year-old Tamir — is breathtaking. This adds insult to homicide. The Rice family considers this a form of harassment."

On Thursday, Rice family legal counsel released a statement demanding that the claim be withdrawn.

The letter, signed by Adam M. Fried, states in part, "Please allow this letter to serve as a demand upon you to withdraw the insensitive and callous claim filed against the Estate of Tamir Rice for emergency services rendered as a result of Tamir being shot and killed by a City of Cleveland police officer."

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