Cop who killed Tamir Rice leaves new police job amid fallout
Source: AP
The former Cleveland police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014 withdrew from the police force of a tiny Pennsylvania town on Thursday amid community backlash and media scrutiny over his hiring. Timothy Loehmann was sworn in this week as the lone police officer in Tioga a community of about 600 people in rural north-central Pennsylvania, 300 miles (483 kilometers) from Cleveland but left the position without having worked a single shift, according to borough council President Steve Hazlett.
The community spoke. They got their feelings out, and we listened to them and were going to react to it and that will be that, he told The Associated Press in a phone interview. We thank the community for stepping forward and letting their voices be heard. Rice, who was Black, was playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2014, when he was shot and killed by Loehmann seconds after Loehmann and his partner arrived. The officers told investigators Loehmann had shouted three times at Tamir to raise his hands. The shooting sparked community protests about police treatment of Black people, especially after a grand jury decided not to indict the white officer or his partner.
Cleveland settled a lawsuit over Tamirs death for $6 million, and the city ultimately fired Loehmann for having lied on his application to become a police officer. Loehmann has since made multiple attempts to find work in law enforcement. He landed a part-time position with a police department in the southeast Ohio village of Bellaire in October 2018, but withdrew his application days later after Tamirs mother, Samaria, and others criticized the hiring. The circumstances of Loehmanns hiring in Tioga remained a mystery Thursday.
Hazlett would not say whether Loehmann told council about the Tamir Rice case when he applied, or whether council knew of his background when voting to hire him. The process is private and personal. We dont share it. It doesnt leave his folder, he said. Mayor David Wilcox told cleveland.com he was under the impression that there was a thorough background check into him, that he didnt have any issues. Wilcox, who said he was not involved in the hiring process, did not return a message from AP.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/police-pennsylvania-cleveland-tamir-rice-631f127abad6b7fd83c9bfa15eda24a6
I heard this on the radio earlier...
This is why that database is needed!
erronis
(15,290 posts)I'm sure there's a lot better terms for such a DB.
If the multiplicity of "law enforcement" organizations can keep track of everything a person does, why shouldn't we know what they are doing also?
Aren't they supposed to be involved in legal activities? Why would they be scared of facts?
Journeyman
(15,036 posts)A little accountability will go a long way to help repair the public trust.
Backseat Driver
(4,392 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,076 posts)there are actually several out there including within some states. But then the excuse was "trying to interface/tie them altogether", inconsistent data entry of the incidents with with LEOs, and then you have the FOPs that jump in and try to torpedo the efforts at creating these systems in the first place.
I know the idea of a national registry keeps being floated and it needs congressional action (without being watered down as often happens).
Turbineguy
(37,338 posts)bringthePaine
(1,728 posts)richdj25
(163 posts)to get employment with Trump and/or the GOP. There's plenty of deplorables amongst that lot.
2naSalit
(86,646 posts)Another line of work. Doesn't seem to take the hint.
More_Cowbell
(2,191 posts)He knows he's among his people in most police stations.
2naSalit
(86,646 posts)Now that you mention it.
johnp3907
(3,731 posts)So, no good targets for this guy, Im guessing.
MyOwnPeace
(16,927 posts)see a "Trump" banner or two in the area..............
Demsrule86
(68,583 posts)SunSeeker
(51,569 posts)He should be in jail.
LoisB
(7,206 posts)SunSeeker
(51,569 posts)An isolated warehouse job seems more appropriate.
LoisB
(7,206 posts)running into any Black 12 year-old kids is slim to none.
Gore1FL
(21,132 posts)He's got to know no one wants him around in that capacity.
LoisB
(7,206 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,076 posts)Was looking on google to see where that town was and there was some pics on google maps of the Welcome Center/rest stop that included a pic that had a stuffed elk wearing a mask.
LoisB
(7,206 posts)BumRushDaShow
(129,076 posts)Looks like it's also a little resort town near a lake so they probably get tourists going up there to camp and hunt.
The Jungle 1
(4,552 posts)Get a job at the local sewer plant ya puke. He can be the rain coat catcher.
The video of him murdering that child is very clear. What I will never understand is why he is not in jail.
America we have a police problem.
The wages we are paying police that have 6 weeks of training is a joke. You want that kind of pay prove you have some brains.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)One where he creates smaller rocks from larger ones.
Or license plates.
skypilot
(8,854 posts)...I'm actually surprised and heartened that he got this kind of pushback in a rural Pennsylvania town.
BumRushDaShow
(129,076 posts)and it is surprising - considering it seemed like it was an "under the radar" hire and it seems the people who lived there called them out on it.
skypilot
(8,854 posts)...and gave a heads up. I wonder if it was another cop.
BumRushDaShow
(129,076 posts)before being outed, suggests it could have been a county person (given the town is so small). I expect they didn't want the negative press given they look to be a touristy/recreation-focused town, and decided to send him on his way,
XorXor
(621 posts)I'm really surprised they got away with that, to be honest. Maybe if it happened a six years later the result would have been different. I find I can usually get even the most strident cop defenders to agree that those cops are pieces of shit.
XorXor
(621 posts)It illustrate everything that is wrong with how police view and handle the public. Those officers should have served jail time for what they did. They for sure shouldn't be able to ever even attempt to be police officers again, or have any sort of position of authority in which they have to exercise their own judgement. They've shown they are not capable of having such power. I'm glad this guy was run out of town. I hope it keeps happening until he figures out he should change his career goals.
Aristus
(66,381 posts)"Doesn't murder innocent unarmed teenagers" is a minimum standard for their police force.