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Chicago (AFP) – A grand jury in the US state of Ohio has declined to bring criminal charges against police officers involved in the fatal shooting last year of a 12-year-old boy in Cleveland, a prosecutor said Monday.

The November 2014 death of Tamir Rice — a black child who had been carrying a replica gun in a playground when he was shot dead — and the fatal shootings of other African Americans by police have triggered protests across the country.

“Based on the evidence they heard and the law as it applies to police use of deadly force, the grand jury declined to bring criminal charges” against the two officers involved, including the one who shot Rice, Tim McGinty, the prosecutor for Cuyahoga County told reporters.

“Given this perfect storm of human error, mistakes and communications by all involved that day, the evidence did not indicate criminal conduct by police.”

Surveillance video showed Rice was fatally shot within seconds of the patrol car arriving on the scene. The boy died hours later in hospital.