Tim McGinty

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty called on Ohio lawmakers to craft new legislation expanding powers of the Ohio Attorney General's Office and requiring independent investigations into police shootings across the state.

(Cory Shaffer, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty penned a letter calling for legislation that would make it easier for special prosecutors and independent police agencies to investigate killings by police.

McGinty asked state lawmakers to pass a law that would allow the Ohio Attorney General's Office to present evidence in police killings to grand juries if asked by a local prosecutor or if local prosecutors choose not to ask a grand jury to review the case.

McGinty also asked for a new state law requiring an independent police agency to investigate all instances where officers use deadly force.

McGinty's office sent the letter to Ohio's lawmakers Thursday, one month after a grand jury declined to indict two Cleveland police officers in the Nov. 22, 2014 death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Officer Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir less than two seconds after Loehmann and his partner Frank Garmback pulled up next to the boy at a West Side park.

A 911 caller reported that "a guy with a gun" was pointing it at people in the park. Tamir was playing with an airsoft pellet gun with the orange tip removed before police arrived.

Tamir's death became the first police killing in Cleveland transferred to an outside when the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department took over the investigation.

Activists and lawyers for the Rice family accused McGinty's office of mishandling the investigation, and called for a special prosecutor to take over the case before the grand jury reached its decision.

McGinty said he had no legal conflict of interest that would have justified a request for a special prosecutor.

Ohio lawmakers introduced several bills in the Republican-controlled General Assembly that would bolster transparency and public confidence in investigations of police use of force.

Last month, two lawmakers introduced a bill that would require the Attorney General's Office to investigate all police killings of unarmed suspects.

Former assistant prosecutor Michael O'Malley, who is running against McGinty in the March 15 Democratic primary, also criticized McGinty's handling of Tamir's case. O'Malley has taken issue with the length of the investigation, but has stopped short of offering specifics on how he would have handled the case.

O'Malley's criticism continued Monday.

"Prosecutor McGinty's letter is an acknowledgement of his mishandling of the Tamir Rice case," O'Malley said in a statement through campaign spokesman Ryan Miday. "While it is a good start, his proposal does not go far enough to restore confidence in the system."

McGinty's campaign declined to respond to O'Malley.

O'Malley said he plans to unveil his plan to "restore integrity in the system" on Tuesday.

Update: This post was updated with comment from Michael O'Malley's campaign.