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Photo via Tioga council president Steve Hazlett
Loehmann being sworn in this week
Timothy Loehmann, the former Cleveland police officer who shot and killed Tamir Rice, was hired by the small Pennsylvania town of Tioga (population 700) as its lone cop this week.
Tioga council president Steve Hazlett posted a photo of Loehmann being sworn into the job, where he will make $18 an hour.
Mayor David Wilcox told multiple outlets he wasn't aware of the decision to hire Tamir's killer, wasn't briefed on his resume beforehand, and during a protest including community members said, "I make his schedule, so I would determine the day that he’s actually patrolling. At this point, it’s not happening.”
Wilcox, in an interview with Cleveland.com, added, "I found it strange that someone would move here all the way from Cleveland, Ohio, for $18 an hour. But I heard that he wanted to get away from it all and come here to hunt and fish.”
Loehmann supposedly landed the gig after a thorough background check, one that would surely surface the Tamir Rice case as well as his
brief tenure with the Independence police force, from which he resigned rather being fired after he demonstrated "dismal" performance on the job and being deemed unfit to serve.
In a statement, Subodh Chandra, who represented Samaria Rice in legal proceedings following Tamir's killing, said, "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. Loehmann—who should never again be entrusted with a badge and gun—is 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—life he deprived Tamir of—in shame. Let’s hope Tioga residents have the good sense to question the poor judgment of their misguided and indifferent officials."
Rice, in a statement to Cleveland.com, added, “Whoever hired him made a big mistake. He shouldn’t be a police officer anywhere in the United States.”
The Cleveland police union had long fought to get Loehmann, who was fired for lying on his Cleveland police application, his job back, to no avail. But Loehmann hasn't stopped trying to be a cop.
In 2018 he joined the small-town police force of Bellaire, Ohio, but quit days after news of his hiring spread. More recently, his participation on the Cleveland Warriors, an amateur football team comprised of cops and first responders,
drew widespread condemnation and protests leading to the resignation of the team's leaders.
Tioga mayor David Wilcox told local protestors this week he hopes council, his office and the local community can come to a "peaceful resolution."
