“Ms. Rice believes that Timothy Loehmann does not belong on any police force, anywhere, period,” said Rice family attorney Subodh Chandra. “Someone with his record should not be subjected upon the citizenry. But she does hope that this means that he will not ever return to Cleveland.” ||||| BELLAIRE — The village has hired Timothy Loehmann, a former Cleveland police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice four years ago, as one of two new part-time officers with its police department. 
 
 The other part-time officer is Eric Smith, Bethesda’s still-suspended police chief who remains under investigation by the Ohio Attorney General’s office for allegedly misusing a statewide computer system for law enforcement. 
 
 Bellaire Police Chief Richard “Dick” Flanagan confirmed Friday that he hired Loehmann and Smith. He said he believes both men deserve second chances. 
 
 Loehmann killed Rice, 12, of Cleveland in November 2014. Published reports indicate he shot Rice less than 2 seconds after he arrived to investigate a complaint about the boy carrying what turned out to be a fake gun. 
 
 He was never indicted on any charges related to the shooting and was cleared by a Cuyahoga County grand jury and Cleveland’s Critical Incident Review Commission, according to published reports. 
 
 However, Loehmann was fired by the Cleveland Police Department in 2017 for allegedly omitting information from his employment application. He previously had worked for the police department in Independence, Ohio, and failed to note that on his application. Loehmann was told he either had to quit his job in Independence or be fired, officials said at that time. 
 
 Flanagan said Friday he had no reservations about hiring Loehmann to work in his department. 
 
 “He was cleared of any and all wrongdoing,” Flanagan said of Loehmann. “He was never charged. It’s over and done with.” 
 
 According to published reports, Independence Deputy Chief Jim Polak wrote in Loehmann’s personnel file that he was “weepy” and “distracted” during firearms training. He allegedly told Polak that he was having trouble with his girlfriend at the time. But the deputy went further in his statements about Loehmann’s competence. 
 
 “He could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal,” Polak wrote in 2012. 
 
 Polak recommended that Loehmann should leave the department. 
 
 “I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct the deficiencies,” Polak wrote. 
 
 He also said Loehmann lacked “maturity” to continue working for the Independence department, published reports indicate. 
 
 In 2009, Loehmann also failed an exam administered by the Maple Heights, Ohio, police department. Published reports indicate he failed to disclose that in his application to Cleveland, too. 
 
 Flanagan said he never had reservations about hiring Loehmann because he was cleared of any wrongdoing regarding Rice’s death. He said he does not believe it is fair for people to “crucify” Loehmann about what happened. 
 
 “I have full confidence and faith in every police officer here,” Flanagan said. “We have eight full-time officers and five part-time officers. And if anyone is looking for a part-time job, call me. All officers are on a probationary period of one year.” 
 
 Regarding Smith, Flanagan acknowledged he has his doubts. 
 
 “No one wanted to hire this guy anywhere — even his best friend who is a chief up north,” Flanagan said of Smith. “He deserves to have a second chance.” 
 
 Smith has been accused of misusing the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway, a computerized system. Flanagan said Smith, who remains on paid administrative leave with Bethesda, will not be permitted to use computers in Bellaire. 
 
 “I had reservations about Eric Smith and I still do,” Flanagan said. “Everyone has got to prove themselves. I try to prove every day that I am capable of being the police chief. Everybody makes mistakes. 
 
 “Everyone I hired went through the background check and all come highly recommended — except for Eric Smith,” he said. “But people grow up and move on.” 
 
 Flanagan said that if either officer — or any Bellaire police officer — does something wrong in the line of duty, the department will handle the situation. 
 
 “If there is some wrongdoing or someone breaks a policy, there are procedures to deal with that accordingly,” he added. 
 
 Flanagan said his officers have a lot of experience even though they are young. Since he took over the chief’s position, Flanagan said the lines of communication have been open between officers and the public. That has led to more successful investigations and arrests, he said. 
 
 “We’ve had more crimes solved in the past eight months than we’ve had in the past 10 years,” Flanagan said. ||||| Timothy Loehmann criticised by small Ohio force for breaking down while handling live gun and his performance was called ‘dismal’, records show 
 
 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 on 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. 
 
 “I have not received any instruction about it, and I have not received the file” from Independence, said Sgt Ali Pillow, a Cleveland police spokesman. He said the Cleveland department had not commented on whether it had seen the memo from Independence before Loehmann was hired. 
 
 On a Saturday afternoon last month, Loehmann and a partner, Frank Garmack, were dispatched to Cleveland’s Cudell Commons Park after a 911 caller reported “a guy” in the park was pointing a “probably fake” gun at people. Surveillance video recovered after the incident showed Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old, handling a pistol-sized pellet gun. 
 
 Loehmann shot the boy dead within two seconds of a police car driven by Garmack arriving to the park and pulling to a stop within feet of the child. In the video, released by Cleveland police a week ago, Loehmann appears to fire his gun as he opens the door to leave the police car. 
 
 Loehmann has been taken off patrol duties in Cleveland and the shooting is under internal review. 
 
 The Independence police memo describes an episode in which a supervising officer suspended gun training with Loehmann after Loehmann had an emotional breakdown about a girlfriend. 
 
 “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.” ||||| BELLAIRE, Ohio (AP) — 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 (241 kilometers) 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." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Information from: The Times Leader, http://www.timesleaderonline.com
– 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 AP reports. Bellaire's police chief, Richard Flanagan, confirmed Friday that he hired Timothy Loehmann as a part-time officer. "He was cleared of any and all wrongdoing," Flanagan tells the Times Leader. "He was never charged. It's over and done with." According to published reports, Loehmann, who is white, shot Tamir, who was black, two seconds after responding to a 2014 call about the boy carrying what turned out to be a pellet gun. A grand jury declined to indict Loehmann, who was fired last year after it was discovered he had been deemed "unfit for duty" on an earlier job. That happened in Independence, Ohio, where he was told in 2012 to quit or be fired after a deputy chief deemed him unable to follow directions, communicate, or execute proper handgun control. Loehmann chose to resign from the police force, per an old Guardian article. Loehmann also failed an exam by the Maple Heights, Ohio, police department in 2009. "Ms. Rice believes that Timothy Loehmann does not belong on any police force, anywhere, period," the Rice family attorney tells Cleveland 19. Bellaire is a village of about 4,000 along the Ohio River, more than 150 miles south of Cleveland.