The police officer who killed Tamir Rice in 2014, casuing national outrage and condemnation, has been hired by the Borough of Tioga in Pennsylvania as its only officer.
Images posted on social media shows Tioga Mayor David Wilcox swearing in officer Timothy Loehmann on Tuesday evening.
The news led to locals mounting a protest outside the borough offices.
According to WENY, Mr Wilcox said he wasn’t aware of Mr Loehmann’s past before swearing him in, adding that he isn’t involved in the hiring or letting go of staff. The mayor said that the borough council is in charge of staffing issues.
“I was under the understanding, through our police committee and our Borough president, that they did an extensive background check on him,” Mr Wilcox told WENY. “Everything checked out, everyone they spoke to, clean record ... and that was my understanding.”
At the protest, Mr Wilcox confirmed to WENY that Mr Loehmann is the former Cleveland police officer, adding that he got a text telling him to swear him in on Tuesday.
“I found it weird ... because we don’t swear people in that way anymore ... the way we used to,” he said. “Now, you can take your oath of office to the notary and have them sign it for free, right here in town at the bank ... I thought it was a little weird right from the beginning.”
Protesters congregated to speak to Mr Wilcox about the council’s new hire.
Michele Applebee, of Mainesburg, Pennsylvania, said that “it’s a betrayal of this community’s trust for them to hire somebody like that man ... and I’m not going to say his name because he doesn’t deserve it”.
“He shouldn’t be allowed to have a gun ever again, honestly,” she added.
The borough, which is about seven miles south of the New York State border, has around 700 residents. Mr Wilcox noted that they only have one officer and that it’s all the budget can account for.
In 2014, Mr Loehmann responded to a call saying that someone was waving a gun around, shooting 12-year-old Tamir shortly after arriving on the scene. It was later found that Tamir had been holding a pellet gun. The subsequent investigation also found that the person who had called 911 had said that the person waving the gun was a child and that the gun could possibly be a fake weapon, WENY reported.
Mr Loehmann was let go by the Cleveland Police Department in 2017 after lying on a job application. While he wasn’t charged with the death of Tamir, the city of Cleveland agreed that it would pay Tamir’s family $6m following a wrongful death lawsuit.
Mr Wilcox said that he’s planning to hold an emergency council meeting, adding that he wouldn’t allow Mr Loehmann to go on patrol following the protests against his appointment. He urged residents to attend the meeting to share their views.
The attorney representing Tamir’s family, Subodh Chandra, said in a statement that “Tioga officials apparently don’t care whether a police officer was considered mentally unfit for one department, lied on his application to another, rushed upon and slew a child, and then lied about calling out warnings to Tamir — when his window was rolled up on a winter’s day”.
He added that Mr Loehmann “should never again be entrusted with a badge and gun” and that he’s “shamelessly determined to inflict himself upon other communities. He’s also determined to hurt the family of Tamir Rice with his antics when he should just go live the rest of his life ... in shame”.
“Let’s hope Tioga residents have the good sense to question the poor judgment of their misguided and indifferent officials. Every time Timothy Loehmann testifies in a criminal case, Tioga officials and prosecutors will be required to provide defendants and defense counsel Loehmann’s record of lying ... He’s damaged goods and no community should ever want him responsible for enforcing their laws. Officials who do are betraying the trust of their citizens,” Mr Chandra concluded.
The President of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, Jeff Follmer, said that “Timothy Loehmann was cleared of all charges with his use of force. The only administrative charges after a civilian review was that he was found to have allegedly lied on his application. Timothy Loehmann was not given a fair chance in this area and deserves a fair chance in another city”.
The Independent has reached out to Tioga borough for comment.
