Cleveland Apologizes for $500 Ambulance Bill Issued to Tamir Rice’s Family

Cleveland rescinded on Thursday its request that the family of Tamir Rice pay $500 for his “last dying expense” after the 12-year-old boy was fatally shot by a police officer in 2014.

City officials on Thursday said the reimbursement claim was unintended, and Cleveland’s mayor apologized to the family, the New York Times reported.

The city posted legal documents on Wednesday indicating it was suing the family for the cost of the emergency medical treatment Rice received, sparking immediate backlash. A lawyer for the family described the suit as “nothing short of breathtaking.”

Rice was shot on Nov. 22, 2014, while playing with a toy gun. A county prosecutor announced in December that the officer who killed him would not face criminal charges.