Tamir Rice Killing: Activists Push for Arrests After Judge Finds Probable Cause to Charge Officers

"Democracy Now!" airs weekdays at 9 a.m. PT on KCET.

A judge in Ohio has found probable cause to charge a police officer with murder for the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot dead at a playground while holding a toy gun.

On Thursday, Judge Ronald Adrine of the Cleveland Municipal Court said there are grounds to prosecute the officers. The ruling came after community leaders in Cleveland took the unusual legal step on Tuesday of appealing directly to the judge to commence prosecution of the officer, saying they were tired of waiting over six months without any progress on the case. "Democracy Now!" speaks to Rice family attorney Walter Madison and Rhonda Williams, the director of the Social Justice Institute at Case Western Reserve University. Williams is one of the eight community activists who signed the affidavits in Tamir Rice's case.