According to a Cleveland Scene magazine report on Wednesday, the Grand Jury tasked with the decision of whether or not to indict officers Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann in the death of Tamir Rice never actually voted on the matter.
Standard grand jury procedure calls for two possible outcomes: jurors can vote for a “true bill,” meaning charges are to be filed; or they can vote for a “no bill” — a decision not to do so. Whenever jurors vote for a “no bill,” a separate document called a “no-bill documentation” is retained for a county’s records.
But no such document is present in the clerk’s office for Cuyahoga County, or in the office of Common Pleas Judge Nancy McDonnell, who oversaw the grand jury proceedings.
Cleveland Scene also reported that according to one clerk, if the “mysterious document” existed, it would take an order from Administrative and Presiding Judge John J. Russo for it to be made available to reporters.
However, Russo said in a phone interview that “When you say ‘document,’ I’m not sure what you mean. I don’t know what that is. It’s either a true bill or a no bill.”
McGinty, who is seeking re-election despite protests against him, has refused to release the grand jury’s testimony.
