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12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed at a
public park in Cleveland, Ohio, after someone made a call to
emergency services to report he was playing with a toy gun. It is
being stated the dispatcher did not communicate to responding police
officers sent to the scene that the gun in Tamir's possession
appeared to be fake.
Tamir Rice
Two officers drove up to Tamir and the park and one
of them, Timothy Loehmann, 26, immediately opened fire shooting the
boy directly in the stomach, killing him. It turns out the alleged
weapon was an "airsoft toy pistol." Further investigation by Cleveland.com revealed, Loehmann has a a very
poor record as a police officer.
Timothy Loehmann
Deputy Chief Jim Pollack of the Independence Police
wrote regarding Loehmann, "He could not follow simple directions,
could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his
handgun performance is dismal." Pollack further states Loehmann's
conduct during incidents, "Show a pattern of a lack of maturity,
indiscretion and not following instructions" and "due to this
dangerous loss of composure during live range training and his
inability to manage this personal stress, I do not believe Ptl.
Loehmann shows the maturity needed to work in our employment. I do
not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct
the deficiencies."
Loehmann was given the option of resigning as
opposed to being fired when he quit his post with the Independence
Police. However, he obtained employment with the Cleveland Division
Of Police, who now state they did not review Loehmann's personnel
records from the Independence Police. He is clearly not fit to be a
police officer. This was a horrifically poor judgment call. Many
are asking why the child was not tased, rather than shot to death.
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