A US grand jury has decided not to bring charges against two policemen over the killing of a 12-year-old black boy armed with a toy gun.A local prosecutor in Ohio state, Tim McGinty, called the events that led to the death of Tamir Rice “the perfect storm of human errors”.

He said it was not unreasonable for the officers to fear for their lives.

The announcement comes at a time when the deaths of black men at the hands of police has sparked a national debate.

Rice was carrying a non-lethal pellet gun when police approached him in Cleveland in November 2014, in response to a 911 call reporting a man waving and pointing a gun at people.

The caller said the gun may not be real and the perpetrator could be a juvenile.

Mr McGinty faulted the emergency services dispatcher for not relaying that information to the officers.

Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback have said the gun looked real and urged Rice to raise his hands three times.

Officer Loehmann shot Rice twice after the boy pulled the gun from his waistband.

The toy gun lacked an orange safety tip and urged toy manufactures to stop making replicas that look like real guns, Mr McGinty said.

The Rice family have said police fired too quickly and should have used a Taser, a non-lethal weapon.

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