BINGHAMTON, NY — Amid a firestorm of controversy, the former Cleveland police officer who killed Tamir Rice withdrew from his new police officer position in Pennsylvania.
Borough Major David Wilcox swore in Timothy Loehmann on Tuesday night after the borough council voted to approve his hiring as a police officer in the community of about 700 residents. Tioga, a community of about 600 in rural north-central Pennsylvania, is 300 miles from Cleveland.
The move set off local protests in the borough, about eight miles south of the New York state line in northern Tioga County, along with a firestorm of criticism on social media.
The borough council approved Timothy Loehmann’s appointment Tuesday night, a move that was met with immediate backlash from local protesters and on social media.
On Thursday morning, Tioga Borough Council President Steve Hazlett posted a brief update on his Facebook page, writing, “Effective this morning, Timothy Loehmann has officially withdrawn his application for the Tioga Borough police position.” The post has since been deleted, but Hazlett confirmed the statement by phone Thursday to the USA TODAY Network.
Hazlett said withdrawing from consideration was Loehmann’s idea.
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In 2014, after responding to a 911 call, Loehmann fatally shot Tamir, who was 12. Tamir was holding a pellet gun at the time. The shooting sparked protests across the nation.
in to 2015 post on his Facebook pagewhich was deleted Thursday, Hazlett shared a post on Facebook with a link related to the 2014 shooting, and Hazlett wrote on the post, “Dumb enough to pull a fake gun, dumb enough to get shot.”
Hazlett didn’t respond to a question Thursday asking about the 2015 social media post.
Tioga’s decision to hire Loehmann was also sharply criticized by Cleveland attorney Subodh Chandrawho co-represented the estate and family of Tamir Rice.
“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 wrote in a statement posted on his law firm’s website. “Loehmann — who should never again be entrusted with a badge and gun — is shamelessly determined to inflict himself upon other communities.”
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Wilcox, said by phone Thursday that he sat in on the interview with Loehmann and a copy of the application was on the table, but when he tried to take it with him others said he couldn’t.
In social media comments, Wilcox denied any responsibility for Loehmann’s appointment.
“This has nothing to do with me. Council hires, fires and background checks,” Wilcox wrote. “I literally wasn’t even allowed to take his resume with me the day they interviewed him.”
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Wilcox made a similar statement while standing on the bed of a pickup truck addressing protesters, according to a video posted on social media by the Wellsboro Gazette. Hazlett said Wilcox was afforded multiple opportunities to review Loehmann’s application materials.
“The personnel committee had that information. The major refused to look at the packet,” Hazlett said. “He had a chance to do that. We had committee meetings. He refused to come to those meetings. The application was on the table for him to look at. I even told him to look at it.”
Hazlett said he personally reviewed the materials in Loehmann’s application packet but said he couldn’t discuss the contents due to confidentiality of personnel information.
The borough will continue to attempt to fill the police officer position, said Hazlett, who noted Tioga currently relies on Pennsylvania State Police for coverage.
What happened to Tamir Rice
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, Officer Frank Garmback, arrived.
The incident, occurring just three months after Michael Brown was shot in Ferguson, Missouri, set off nationwide protests. In December 2015, a grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the officers.
Loehmann was later fired from the Cleveland Police Department for lying on his job application, in which he did not disclose that he was allowed to resign from Ohio’s Independence Police Department after it was determined he was unfit to be a police officer.
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In 2018, the Ohio village of Bellaire hired Loehmann as a part-time officer, but he resigned days later.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department announced it would not reopen an investigation into Tamir’s death. In 2016, the Rice family won a $6 million settlement in a lawsuit against Cleveland. The city admitted no wrongdoing.
www.usatoday.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism