The city of Cleveland has fired the police officer who fatally shot a 12-year-old boy in 2014.
The discipline’s justification focuses on the officer’s job application.
Officer Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir Rice in the park outside Cudell recreation center after responding to a 911 call. Before police arrived, the 12-year-old had been playing an air gun.
Internal reviews did not fault Loehmann for firing his weapon. But he was cited for not disclosing in his application that he would have been fired from a previous police job in Independence had he not resigned.
Officer Frank Garmback, who drove the police zone car the day of the shooting, received a 10-day suspension without pay and was ordered to undergo more training.
Police Chief Calvin Williams says department officials have come to what they believe is a fair conclusion.
“People on both sides are going to say it wasn’t enough, it was too much. You know, we have to go through our process, we have to be fair and objective to everybody involved in the process," Williams said.
Tamir Rice’s mother, Samaria Rice, said she was relieved by the firing.
But the president of the Cleveland Police Patrolman’s Association called the discipline a “politically motivated witch-hunt,” saying the union is appealing to an arbitrator.
