BELLAIRE, Ohio — The former Cleveland police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice has been hired by a police department in a small Ohio village. The Times Leader reports Bellaire’s police chief confirmed Friday he hired Timothy Loehmann as a part-time officer.
Richard Flanagan said Loehmann was never charged in Tamir’s death and deserves a second chance.
Bellaire is a village of about 4,000 along the Ohio River, more than 150 miles south of Cleveland.
Tamir, who was black, was playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center in 2014 when he was shot by Loehmann, who is white.
A grand jury declined to indict Loehmann. He was fired last year after it was discovered he was previously deemed “unfit for duty.”
Rice family attorney Subodh Chandra told CBS Cleveland affiliate WOIO that Samaria Rice “believes that Timothy Loehmann does not belong on any police force, anywhere, period.”
“Someone with his record should not be subjected upon the citizenry,” Chandra said. “But she does hope that this means that he will not ever return to Cleveland.”
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