Cleveland Cop in Toy Gun Killing Resigned From Previous Job After 'Dismal' Handgun Performance, According to Files

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Cleveland Cop in Toy Gun Killing Resigned From Previous Job After 'Dismal' Handgun Performance, According to Files

By JAMES HILL3 hours ago

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Cleveland Cop in Toy Gun Killing Resigned From Previous Job After 'Dismal' Handgun Performance, According to Files (ABC News)

The Cleveland police officer under investigation for the fatal shooting of a 12-year-old boy last month resigned from his previous job as a police officer after his superiors determined he had emotional maturity issues, an inability to manage stress and “dismal” performance in firearms training, according to a 2012 personnel file made public Wednesday.

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Officer Tim Loehmann, who shot and killed Tamir Rice Nov. 22 outside a Cleveland recreation center, spent five months in 2012 working for the police department in Independence, Ohio, a suburb south of Cleveland. His brief tenure there was marked by a host of troubling performance deficiencies that culminated in a recommendation that his employment be terminated, according to the records released by the city of Independence in response to public records requests.

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ABC News has been unable to reach Loehmann and it’s unclear whether he has retained an attorney. The Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association has not responded to ABC News’ requests for comment.

In a letter dated Nov. 29, 2012, Independence Police Deputy Chief Jim Polak described Loehmann as “distracted and weepy” during a firearms qualification course the previous day. “He could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal,” Polak wrote in the letter to the city’s human resources director. “I am recommending he be released” from employment.

“I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct these deficiencies,” he wrote.

According to another report contained in the file, written by a police sergeant who supervised Loehmann, the young recruit attributed his problems to a breakup with his girlfriend. “He stated that his girlfriend broke up with him and he cried every morning for four months,” according to the documents.

After being informed that he was facing termination, Loehmann submitted his resignation a few days later, citing “personal reasons” for his departure, according to the documents.

Fifteen months later, in March of this year, Loehmann was hired by the Cleveland Police Department. A spokesperson for the department acknowledged in a written statement Wednesday that Cleveland Police detectives did not review Loehmann’s Independence Police Department personnel file during a background check.

“Cleveland Police detectives, assigned to the personnel unit, interviewed the Human Resources Director for the City of Independence,” Cleveland Police Sgt. Ali Pillow wrote. “During that interview detectives inquired if there were any disciplinary actions or incidents that Cleveland Police should be aware of prior to hiring Loehmann , at which point they were told there were none. Officer Loehmann indicated that he resigned for personal reasons which was substantiated by the City of Independence.”

The Cleveland police statement also noted the department has now amended its policies to request a personnel file from previous employers.

Loehmann had been on a brief administrative leave after the shooting last month. He is now out with an unspecified injury.

On the day of the shooting, he had been dispatched in response to a 911 call reporting someone waving a gun around in the park outside the recreation center. Though the caller mentioned the possibility that the person may be a juvenile and the gun could be fake, that information was apparently not relayed to Loehmann and his partner.

Video of the incident appears to show Rice waving around what appears to be a handgun. When the police vehicle arrives, the video appears to show Officer Loehmann exiting the passenger side while the car was still in motion and shooting Rice less than two seconds later. The police department has said that Rice was reaching for what appeared to be a weapon tucked in his waistband as the car approached.

The gun was later determined to be a fake.

Loehmann’s father, a veteran law enforcement officer, this week told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer that his son was in shock over the shooting, but given the circumstances, had no choice but to shoot.

http://news.yahoo.com/cleveland-cop-toy-gun-killing-resigned-previous-job-224232060--abc-news-topstories.html

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

We shall see how this plays out.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Why did Cleveland hire him since he was a train wreck? You'd think they'd check him out thoroughly.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Why did Cleveland hire him since he was a train wreck? You'd think they'd check him out thoroughly.

Desperate so they took any scraps they could get.

How is it the police department don't conduct a thorough background check? Odd isn't it? Or did they know and they are now throwing him under the barrel to protect themselves?

[Karee 4,189]

Why did Cleveland hire him since he was a train wreck? You'd think they'd check him out thoroughly.

Who would want to be a cop these days? You do your job and everyone freaks out and calls you racist. Now wonder they're scraping the bottom of the barrel and taking anything they can get.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Who would want to be a cop these days? You do your job and everyone freaks out and calls you racist. Now wonder they're scraping the bottom of the barrel and taking anything they can get.

Sadly that's probably is true in some areas.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

dude killed a kid in less than 2 seconds. he didn't even try to de-escalate the situation. poor training, poor department

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Desperate so they took any scraps they could get.

How is it the police department don't conduct a thorough background check? Odd isn't it? Or did they know and they are now throwing him under the barrel to protect themselves?

They were probably thinking he could shoot a few innocent blacks for no reason.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

They were probably thinking he could shoot a few innocent blacks for no reason.

you thought of this before I did.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

you thought of this before I did.

Nah, I just posted it first. You thought of it when you read the article.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

Nah, I just posted it first. You thought of it when you read the article.

you're a mind reader now?

[lostinblue 1,989]

Another memo from a sergeant who worked with Loehmann at a shooting range described the officer as "distracted," "not fit to return" after an emotional outburst and someone who was "not following simple instructions."

Sounds like he had a disability... Something like this should not keep him from being hired.... equal treatment for all .The department no doubt would see a lawsuit if they did not hire him based on this disability .

[Teddy B 17,251]

dude killed a kid in less than 2 seconds. he didn't even try to de-escalate the situation. poor training, poor department

I blame affirmative action. When the people who get the highest scores on the entrance exams are cast aside for people who got lower scores, simply to fill minority quotas, the more qualified people tend to go elsewhere where the playing field is level, like it's supposed to be. I know that's what myself and a few others I know did.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

I blame affirmative action. When the people who get the highest scores on the entrance exams are cast aside for people who got lower scores, simply to fill minority quotas, the more qualified people tend to go elsewhere where the playing field is level, like it's supposed to be. I know that's what myself and a few others I know did.

Please support this claim. Please show proof that the police department hired minorities who were not qualified making their good employees leave.

Exactly. You are just blowing smoke. And do you have a copy of what the "minorities" made on the test?

If a minority had this kind of track record I doubt they would have been hired so easily.

[Teddy B 17,251]

Please support this claim. Please show proof that the police department hired minorities who were not qualified making their good employees leave.

Exactly. You are just blowing smoke. And do you have a copy of what the "minorities" made on the test?

If a minority had this kind of track record I doubt they would have been hired so easily.

I'm just going to reply to you with pictures from now on, it will make life easier for all involved.