Another Ohio Police Department Hires the Cop Who Killed Tamir Rice

By David Boddiger | October 6, 2018 | 4:45pm

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Timothy Loehmann, the former Cleveland police officer who
shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014, will soon have another badge
and gun.

The village of Bellaire, OH, hired Loehmann as a part-time officer, The Intelligencer reported.

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Loehmann, who is white, killed Rice, who was black, for brandishing
a toy gun outside a Cleveland recreational center. Loehmann was responding
to a 911 call that noted the gun was “probably fake” and shot Rice within 2
seconds of arriving on the scene. A grand jury decided not to charge Loehmann over
the shooting.

The Cleveland Police Department fired
him last year for omitting information on his employment application.

Bellaire Police
Chief Richard Flanagan cited the lack of charges in his decision to hire
Loehmann. “He was never charged. It’s over and done with,” Flanagan said,
according to The Intelligencer.

Before he worked for
the Cleveland Police Department, Loehmann worked as an officer in Independence,
OH. At the time, the deputy police chief in Independence raised questions about
Loehmann’s mental state and his ability to properly handle firearms.

According to the
newspaper:

…Independence
Deputy Chief Jim Polak wrote in Loehmann’s personnel file that he was “weepy” and “distracted” during
firearms training. He allegedly told Polak that he was having trouble with his
girlfriend at the time. But the deputy went further in his statements about
Loehmann’s competence.

“He could not follow simple directions, could not
communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was
dismal,” Polak wrote in 2012.

Polak recommended
that Loehmann should leave the department.

In 2009, Loehmann also failed an exam by another OH police department.

In 2016, the City of
Cleveland announced a $6
million settlement with Rice’s family. In a statement
at the time, the family’s
attorneys said, “Although historic in financial terms, no amount of money
can adequately compensate for the loss of a life.”

They added: “Tamir
was 12 years old when he was shot and killed by police—a young boy with his
entire life ahead of him, full of potential and promise. In a situation such as
this, there is no such thing as closure or justice. Nothing will bring Tamir
back.”