WATCH: Police in Cleveland shoot boy, 12, carrying toy gun. Here's what they say

Another case of police shooting is making waves in the US.

And this time, a surveillance video has emerged - showing cops shooting dead a 12-year-old black boy carrying a toy gun.

The boy, Tamir Rice, died on Sunday after two police officers responding to a 911 emergency call, confronted him at a park in Cleveland, Ohio.

The footage, released yesterday (Nov 26) shows Rice walking on a sidewalk playing with the replica gun. At one point, he is seen aiming it at a passerby.

Then he sits down at the gazebo before the police car pulls up.

Officials claim that Rice disobeyed police orders

When the cops arrive, an officer emerges from the passenger side of the vehicle with his gun drawn and shoots the boy as he walks toward the car.

But Cleveland officials say the officers had given him orders to put up his hands - which Rice ignored.

Deputy police chief Edward Tomba said: "Three commands were given to put up his hands."

The youngster had reached for his waist before he was shot, officials added.

911 caller said gun was probably a toy

The man who placed the 911 call said that the person was probably a juvenile, who was holding a gun that he suspected was a toy.

"There's a guy with a pistol.

"It's probably fake but he's pointing it at everybody." - The 911 caller told police

However, the dispatcher did not tell the officers that the gun was possibly a toy nor that the suspect was a youth. 

Cleveland police identified the officer who killed Rice as 26-year-old Timothy Loehman, who joined the force in March.

“This is a tragic effort where a young member of community lost his life,” he said.

The incident sparked protests on Tuesday, with about 200 demonstrators blocking major roads during rush hour in Cleveland.

Cleveland’s chief of police Calvin Williams defended the conduct of the officer who killed Rice, saying on Monday “there is no time that a Cleveland police officer wants to go out and shoot a kid, period.”

Source: AFP

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