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Timothy Loehmann, the former Cleveland police officer who fatally shot Black 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014, kicking off nationwide protests, resigned from a small town West Virginia police department, according to local officials.
“As of July 1, 2024, Timothy Loehmann has resigned his position and is no longer an employee,” according to a statement to NBC News from White Sulpher Springs mayor Kathy Glover, adding that she wouldn’t comment further on a personnel matter.
The Independent has contacted Loehmann for comment.
City Council member Thomas Taylor told Cleveland.com the decision was “due to the public outcry” around the hiring of Loehmann, who shot the youth outside of a rec center in 2014 within seconds of arriving on the scene, thinking the boy’s toy gun was a real one.
Activists, including the head of Black Lives Matter Cleveland, had called attention to Loehmann’s hiring in recent days on social media.
Loehmann, who was not charged in state or federal court with any crimes, has previously resigned from positions in Ohio in 2018 and Pennsylvania under similar circumstances.
White Sulphur Springs police Chief D.S. Teubert told local media that he met Loehmann through friends from his time in the military and that he spent a year researching the officer’s background before the hiring decision was made.
“Just as a person, I looked at the whole situation,” Teubert said. “I did a background check. I researched everything. It’s just a sad situation. Does any police officer in the world stand a chance when they’re involved in a shooting? Do they deserve to never work again as a police officer, or is it just this shooting?”
