Officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice judged unfit for duty by police in 2012

[Little Star]

A police officer who shot a 12-year-old dead in a Cleveland park late last month had been judged unfit for police service two years earlier by a small suburban force where he worked for six months, according to records released Wednesday.

Officer Timothy Loehmann, who killed Tamir Rice on 22 November, was specifically faulted for breaking down emotionally while handling a live gun. During a training episode at a firing range, Loehmann was reported to be “distracted and weepy” and incommunicative. “His handgun performance was dismal,” deputy chief Jim Polak of the Independence, Ohio, police department wrote in an internal memo.

The memo concludes with a recommendation that Loehmann be “released from the employment of the City of Independence.” Less than a week later, on 3 December 2012, Loehmann resigned.

In March of this year, Loehmann was hired by the Cleveland police department. It is unclear whether the department had seen the Independence memo at the time of Loehmann’s hiring.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/03/officer-who-fatally-shot-tamir-rice-had-been-judged-unfit

[JI7]

1. hope the family sues the department , seems like low level positions at fast food places, store

clerks etc are more strict with who they hire than police departments.

[951-Riverside]

22. Don't worry, the tax payers will be footing the bill when there is a settlement n/t

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

27. Should we just fire him and slap his wrist and NOT benefit the family for their loss?

[BronxBoy]

30. I'm pretty sure...

that's not what the poster meant.

Of course the family will be compensated (although with the way things have been going, I'm not sure) I think the poster is saying that the actions of the officers tend to be more of a burden on the taxpayers than the officers themselves.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

31. OK, and the reason you have to sue the city is the officer wont have much to take.

It isnt the legal reason but the practical one.

My only concern is VERY Few of us would turn away from a multimillion dollar judgment if we were the parents, so to chastise anyone else for doing it is not good

[BronxBoy]

32. I'll let that poster speak for him or herself...

but I still think you are missing the point.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

33. No, I am not. The point you are making is the people who did nothing wrong have to pay

via taxes.

I get that.

My point is who among us would turn down a settlement like that?

And is that poster on record showing sorrow for what happened and anger at the officers or just on record complaining about the tax deal?

[BronxBoy]

34. Who said anything about them turning down a settlement?

It's certainly not stated nor even implied in the post you referred to.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

35. And is that poster or anyone else focused on the tax angle on record here at DU

showing sorrow to the family and anger at the cops for doing this?

Or only concerned about the tax angle?

[BronxBoy]

37. OK...Dude...

Have you even looked at some of the threads on DU today?????? Seems like a lot of anger being expressed to me.

Go have a look

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

38. No, I was talking about the ONLY person I saw who showed anger at the idea of tax

payers having to pay these grieving parents, if they ever do.

I noticed that among a SEA of people, myself included, talking about the sorrow and anger we have

Do you not see that?

I have a knack for noticing something like that, many of us do actually

That maybe the LAST thing ANYBODY should be concerned about in this horrific situation is tax payers having to pay $30 a year more in taxes ,if that.

[BronxBoy]

41. Well.....

like I said... I'll let that poster speak for himself..

[justiceischeap]

39. It's actually be better to sue the officer

that way when he had to pay every paycheck he'd be reminded of what he did.

[951-Riverside]

43. +1 BronxBoy. This is exactly what I meant.

The cops themselves are never held accountable no matter what.

This needs to end.

[olegramps]

44. The city should fit the bill. They hired this misfit.

The citizens of the city elected these incompetent idiots to govern them. Until the citizens wake the hell up and stop electing crap to run the cities and federal government they are just as responsible as the nincompoops they worship. The people who are responsible have nothing to worry about. The Republicans controlled media will have portrayed the kid as being totally at fault and the officer as the victim of a rabid black uncontrollable juvenal delinquent that had put his life in danger.

[KeepItReal]

2. What tha f@ck?!? He was deemed unfit by a small town PD.

So Cleveland PD hires him?

How hard would it have been to check this guy's references?

[uppityperson]

3. This was the "rookie"? And they knew none of this when they hired him? uh. huh.

I wonder how he feels now.

[uponit7771]

4. " was specifically faulted for breaking down emotionally while handling a live gun"

[malaise]

5. He shot the kid within two seconds of

his arrival

[Scootaloo]

7. After damn near running him over on the park's green

This was a drive-by. The new gang's colors are black and gold.

[malaise]

11. I never thought I'd see America turn into a police state

where African Americans are being slaughtered without cause,

[atreides1]

13. Really?

Why not?

[roody]

16. It has been one since its inception.

[JI7]

18. you think this is something new ?

[frylock]

23. nothing new about that

[HereSince1628]

9. Split second decisions are part of the job...

but they probably shouldn't be.

At the time the cruiser swept down upon the child, the child was threatening no one.

Apologists argue that split second life and death decisions are what policing is about,

And I say, that's bullshit whendecisions are forced into split seconds by rashness of police action.

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

29. That description of him in this report fits perfectly with the scared shitless man we see jumping

out of his car and shooting instantly.

Combine a person who has no business ever being a cop with the typical non minority person's view of 12 yr old AfAm children as full grown Giant Negro's Run Amok and you are guaranteed this outcome every single time.



http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=MS19120429.2.26

[Brickbat]

6. “During a state range qualification course, Ptl Loehmann was distracted and weepy,” Polak wrote,

naming the trainer as Sgt Tinnirello. “[Loehmann] could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal. Sgt Tinnirello tried to work through this with Ptl Loehmann by giving him some time. But, after some talking it was clear to Sgt Tinnirello that the recruit was just not mentally prepared to be doing firearm training. ...

“Ptl. Loehmann continued with his emotional meltdown to a point where Sgt. Tinnirello could not take him into the store, so they went to get something to eat and he continued to try and calm Ptl Loehmann. Sgt Tinnirello describes the recruit as being very downtrodden, melancholy with some light crying. Sgt. Tinnirello later found this emotional perplexity was due to a personal issue with Ptl. Loehmann’s on and off again girlfriend whom he was dealing with till 0400 hrs the night before. (Pti. Loehmann was scheduled for 0800 the morning in question).

Some of the comments made by Ptl Loehmann during this discourse were to the effect of, “I should have gone to NY”, “maybe I should quit”, “I have no friends”, “I only hang out with 73-year-old priests”, “I have cried every day for four months about this girl.” In recommending Loehmann’s dismissal, Polak listed what he said were other performance shortcomings, including Loehmann’s having left his gun unlocked, lied to supervisors and failed to follow orders.

“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,” Polak concludes. “For these reasons, I am recommending he be released from the employment of the city of Independence. I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct these deficiencies.”

[spanone]

8. jeebus...this guy sounds like a basket case

[Brickbat]

10. One police department did the right thing by him, anyway.

Heartbreaking that it didn't end there.

[spanone]

12. you would think his past work would follow him through his job application? no?

[Stuart G]

14. Sounds like " he knew somebody" ...........to get the job at Clevelend PD.

This will be totally ugly..fuck the individual who OK'd this...throw him/her out.

[herding cats]

15. Or, maybe his dad did.

His dad was a 20 year NYPD veteran.

[herding cats]

17. His personnel file from the Independence Police Department is posted at Cleveland.com

Which shows evidence that he was also a liar, having been caught lying at least twice to his superiors. He couldn't follow directions, wanted to be a cop like his dad, but didn't want to do what he was told and would lie when caught doing something other than what he was told to do. He should never have been hired on again as a police officer.

The file is all the way at the bottom of the article at the link below.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/12/cleveland_police_officer_who_s.html#incart_m-rpt-1

[heaven05]

20. well you see what his area of operation was

if they knew what a dangerous individual he is, maybe that's why he was put in the area he policed. Wouldn't put it past those in charge. Should have NEVER handled a weapon again as a police officer. geez

[herding cats]

24. He should never have been a police officer again.

He clearly wasn't suited for the job and he sounds like he had some issues with stunted emotional maturity.

[Rex]

19. Shit, I need to sign up with the police force!

I had no idea they were hiring with such low standards! I would be an ace among trumps. And most of the time I am just half motivated to do something!

At least the small down did the right thing and got rid of him, but WTF is up with a big metro hiring him? They don't do employment background check on cop candidates!?

That's fucked up right there.

[uppityperson]

21. Someone last week told he the cops acted appropriately because they thought it might be another

school shooting in the making. At 3:30 pm. On a Saturday.

[BronxBoy]

36. No Shit...For Real?????????

[herding cats]

45. Any excuse in a storm I guess

Toss it out there and see if it resonates with the general public, if not just toss out some other BS until you find something that sticks.

[99th_Monkey]

25. Remarkable really, as Darren Wilson was also "relieved of duty" from another police force,

before getting hired on at Ferguson.

Maybe on some of the worst police forces, having a "record" of abuse is a gold star for them.

[Rex]

40. I guess if you are a corrupt police department, you look for the bad eggs.

Birds of a feather.

[cyberswede]

26. Who the fuck gets weepy at a firing range?

Red flag, anyone? Jesus christ.

[Rex]

42. I am really worried about the fact that PDs don't seem to do background checks on potential employee

It makes me wonder why they get away with the notion that cops can do no wrong and are virtually infallible? Are we that fucked up as a country?

I now appearances are more important that actual reality in America...but it should never apply to someone carrying a gun with a license to kill.

[Kalidurga]

28. Perhaps we will see an indictment on this one

It sounded like the CPD was open to that if video evidence supported a bad shoot and it does.