CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Twenty years ago, East Cleveland police shot and killed 14-year-old Jeffrey Bell in a case similar to Saturday's police shooting in Cleveland that took the life of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

In both instances, police said they opened fire after the boys pulled out what appeared to the officers to be handguns, but turned out to be realistic toy weapons.

Two years after the 1994 shooting of Bell in East Cleveland, the city of Cleveland passed a law that restricted the use of toy guns. The law prohibits "brandishing" replica firearms, including BB guns, that are made to look like real weapons, while "in the presence of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician or paramedic engaged in the performance of his or her duties."

Here is a look back at the East Cleveland police shooting as it was reported in The Plain Dealer.

A woman had called East Cleveland police to report that someone was walking down the street with a gun. A police officer arrived, parked in the middle of an intersection, pointed a gun at Bell and told him to lie down.

Bell didn't, police said at the time. The officer fired one shot that hit Bell in the chest.

The East Cleveland prosecutor later declined to pursue charges against the officer, Patrolman John Rodgers, determining that he was justified in his use of lethal force because the appearance of a weapon caused him to fear for his life.

In a lawsuit filed in 1995 by Bell's family, civil rights specialist Terry Gilbert argued that the city should have trained the officer to approach from the front, where he could have more clearly seen whether or not the weapon was fake.

But a judge dismissed the suit.

Gilbert said in an interview Monday that officers are protected when they shoot someone while on duty.

"The police are viewed from a completely difference standard," Gilbert said. "How do you fit a murder charge to a cop who's on duty, unless you can show that he just executed somebody in cold blood."

Rice's family has hired a lawyer to conduct a private investigation.

Cleveland Patrolmen's Association President Jeff Follmer told Northeast Ohio Media Group that police responding to calls about people with guns do not aim low.

"We're not trained to shoot people in the leg," Follmer said. "If we pull that trigger, we feel our lives are in danger."

In Rice's situation, Gilbert said, the details surrounding the case will determine whether or not the family has a case.

"This is a tragedy, when a 12-year-old kid is shot and killed in a city park," he said. "Lots of questions will arise and they need to be answered and from what I can tell now from looking at the news reports the information is pretty thin."