Cop Who Killed Tamir Rice Listed ‘Under-the-Table Jobs’ as Prior Employment
Timothy Loehmann, the 26-year-old Cleveland police officer who fatally gunned down 12-year-old Tamir Rice, admitted on his job application for the Cleveland Police Department that his primary source of income prior to his hiring was “under-the-table jobs,” ThinkProgress found after reviewing a public records request from the city’s Police Department.
“Well, that seems legit. Let’s give this guy a pistol and set him loose. Wait, there’s more?”
In a November 2012 letter contained in Loehmann’s file, Independence Deputy Chief Jim Pulak recounted a disturbing series of events in which the young officer buckled under pressure, displayed startling emotional immaturity, and conducted the most basic functions of his job with apathy and carelessness. “He was not mentally prepared to do firearm training,” Pulak wrote, adding that during firearms qualification training Loehmann was “distracted and weepy. He could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal. After some talking it was clear to Sgt. Tinnirello that the recruit was just not mentally prepared to be doing firearm training.”
Well, I’m sure the Cleveland PD considered this information before hiring him.
On March 3, the day of Loehmann’s hiring, he consented to a background check commissioned by the City of Cleveland. In a stunning lack of oversight, however, the Cleveland Police Department never reviewed Loehmann’s Independence personnel file before hiring him
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?
More: On Job Application, Cop Who Killed 12-Year-Old Listed ‘Under-the-Table Jobs’ as Prior Employment