A grand jury in Cleveland has declined to indict a city police officer in the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old black boy last year.

The decision by grand jurors was the end of a lengthy investigation that was criticised by the family of the boy, Tamir Rice, and activists, who called the shooting senseless and said the officer should have been charged with murder months ago.

Tamir, who was black, was carrying a replica gun outside a recreation center when someone called 911. The caller cautioned that Tamir was probably a juvenile and that the weapon was 'probably fake', but that information was not relayed to the two officers who responded, Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback.

Surveillance video, which has been widely circulated online, showed Officer Garmback pulling the police cruiser within a few feet of Tamir, and Officer Loehmann, who is white, stepping out of the car and almost immediately firing his gun. Tamir died hours later.

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