Timothy Loehmann is the former Cleveland police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice at a Cleveland recreation center on November 22, 2014. He was never criminally charged. Cleveland fired him in 2017, not for the shooting but for lying on his job application. In the years since, he has been hired by at least five law enforcement agencies across three states and forced out of each one after public outrage. As of late December 2025, he is not known to be working in law enforcement anywhere.1Cleveland.com. Officer Who Shot Tamir Rice No Longer Working for West Virginia Agencies
What Happened at Cudell Park
On the afternoon of November 22, 2014, a bystander called 911 to report a male with a pistol at the Cudell Park Recreation Center in Cleveland. The caller told the dispatcher the subject was “probably a juvenile” and the gun was “probably fake.”2U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Announces Closing of Investigation Into 2014 Officer-Involved Shooting in Cleveland, Ohio Neither qualifier reached the responding officers. The dispatcher told them only that a Black male was pulling a gun and pointing it at people.
Loehmann and his partner Frank Garmback responded. The object Tamir held was an airsoft pellet gun that federal investigators later described as “visually virtually indistinguishable” from a real .45 Colt semi-automatic pistol.2U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Announces Closing of Investigation Into 2014 Officer-Involved Shooting in Cleveland, Ohio Garmback drove the patrol car toward the gazebo where Tamir was sitting, and the vehicle slid roughly 40 feet on wet ground. Loehmann opened the passenger door while the car was still moving and fired twice within less than two seconds, striking Tamir in the abdomen. Tamir died the next day, November 23, 2014.3History.com. Tamir Rice Killed by Police
Both officers later said Loehmann had shouted commands for Tamir to show his hands and that they believed he was reaching for a weapon.4CBS News. Timothy Loehmann, Officer Who Fatally Shot Tamir Rice Surveillance footage captured the encounter but was later described by federal analysts as grainy, non-continuous, partially obstructed by the patrol car, and not clear enough to definitively establish what Tamir was doing in the seconds before the shots.2U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Announces Closing of Investigation Into 2014 Officer-Involved Shooting in Cleveland, Ohio
Why He Was Never Charged
On December 28, 2015, a Cuyahoga County grand jury declined to indict Loehmann or Garmback. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty, who oversaw the proceedings, had recommended against charges. He called the shooting a “perfect storm of human error, mistakes and miscommunications” but said the evidence did not support criminal misconduct.5The Guardian. Tamir Rice Shooting: No Charges for Cleveland Officer Timothy Loehmann Attorneys for the Rice family accused McGinty of “abusing and manipulating the grand jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment.”6ABC News. Prosecutor Makes Announcement in Tamir Rice Grand Jury Investigation
A federal civil rights investigation ran for years alongside the state case. On December 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would not pursue federal charges either. Federal law required prosecutors to prove the officers acted “willfully” rather than out of mistake, negligence, or bad judgment, and the DOJ concluded the evidence could not meet that standard. The poor quality of the surveillance video was central: prosecutors said the grainy time-lapse footage, with no audio and obstructed views, made it impossible to establish conclusively whether Tamir was reaching for his toy gun. Seven use-of-force experts offered conflicting opinions, but investigators said those opinions “added little to the case” because they all relied on the same poor video.7PBS NewsHour. U.S. Justice Department Declines Charges Against Officers in Tamir Rice Case
Why Cleveland Fired Him in 2017
Loehmann had spent five months in 2012 with the Independence, Ohio, police department before Cleveland hired him. His time there ended badly. In a November 2012 letter, Independence Deputy Chief Jim Polak wrote that during a firearms qualification course Loehmann was “distracted and weepy,” could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts, and that his handgun performance was “dismal.”8ABC News. Cleveland Cop in Toy Gun Killing Resigned From Previous Job Personnel records cited a “pattern of lack of maturity, indiscretion and not following instructions,” an “inability to manage personal stress,” and a “dangerous loss of composure during live range training.”9CNN. Cleveland Police Officer Timothy Loehmann Polak recommended Loehmann be released; informed that a disciplinary separation had begun, Loehmann resigned, citing “personal reasons.”
Cleveland’s background investigators never pulled that file. They interviewed an Independence HR director who said there were no disciplinary actions or incidents of concern, and Cleveland hired Loehmann in March 2014.8ABC News. Cleveland Cop in Toy Gun Killing Resigned From Previous Job Three years later, in 2017, Cleveland fired him. The stated reason was not the shooting itself but his failure to disclose on his application that he had been deemed unfit for duty at Independence.3History.com. Tamir Rice Killed by Police
The Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association appealed on his behalf, seeking reinstatement. A state appellate court dismissed the appeal because the union had failed to properly serve notice on the city’s outside attorneys within the required timeframe.10NBC News. Former Officer Who Fatally Shot Tamir Rice Appeals to Get His Job Back On July 6, 2021, the Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear the case, ending his legal fight to return to Cleveland. The merits were never considered; the case died on procedural grounds.11Ideastream. Timothy Loehmann’s Legal Fight to Return to Cleveland Police Has Ended
The Hirings That Followed
Loehmann has been hired by at least five law enforcement agencies since Cleveland fired him. Each hiring has been undone by public outrage, often within days.
Bellaire, Ohio (2018)
In October 2018, the Bellaire, Ohio, police department hired Loehmann as a part-time officer. Bellaire Police Chief Richard Flanagan defended the hire, saying Loehmann had been cleared of wrongdoing and “deserves a second chance.”12NBC News. Officer Who Fatally Shot Tamir Rice Quits Ohio Police Department Samaria Rice called it “a personal attack on our family,” and activists reported thousands of people contacted the department to protest. Days later, Loehmann withdrew his application.
Tioga, Pennsylvania (2022)
Loehmann obtained a Pennsylvania Act 120 certification in October 2020.13Centre Daily Times. Timothy Loehmann Obtained Act 120 Certification On June 6, 2022, the Tioga Borough Council unanimously approved his probationary hiring as the town’s sole police officer. He was sworn in July 5, 2022, and withdrew his application July 7 before working a shift.14Spotlight PA. Tamir Rice, Timothy Loehmann, and Police in Tioga, PA
Borough officials had failed to check Pennsylvania’s Act 57 database, which tracks police misconduct. On July 8, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro sent a letter to the council president calling the omission a “violation of state law.” Between July 8 and August 1, four of seven council members, the borough solicitor, and the borough secretary all resigned. The municipal building closed to the public for three months.14Spotlight PA. Tamir Rice, Timothy Loehmann, and Police in Tioga, PA
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia (2024)
In 2024, the White Sulphur Springs Police Department in West Virginia hired Loehmann as a probationary officer on the recommendation of Chief D.S. Teubert.15WVVA. Officer Who Fatally Shot Tamir Rice Resigns From White Sulphur Springs Police Department He resigned effective July 1, 2024. Teubert then stepped down as chief and demoted himself to patrolman. Mayor Kathy Glover announced Teubert’s resignation at a July 8, 2024, city council meeting and said she “did not know who he was, and I did not have all of the information that should have been given.”16NBC News. West Virginia Police Chief Resigns After Outrage Over Hiring Officer Who Killed Tamir Rice
Gilmer County, West Virginia (2025)
Public records showed Loehmann was employed as a deputy by the Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office for four days in August 2025, from August 18 until he resigned in good standing on August 22. When contacted by media, Sheriff Donald “Smokey” Belin denied Loehmann was employed there. Both the sheriff’s department and the Gilmer County Commission declined to comment further.17Dragline. Officer Who Killed 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Just Got Two More Police Jobs in West Virginia
Snowshoe Resort Community District, West Virginia (2025)
In June 2025, the Snowshoe Resort Community District, a small police agency serving a West Virginia resort area, hired Loehmann as an armed ranger. He was recommended by SRCD Police Chief Bryan Grimm, who had previously served as a lieutenant in White Sulphur Springs during the period Loehmann worked there.17Dragline. Officer Who Killed 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Just Got Two More Police Jobs in West Virginia The hiring went unreported for months until December 2025, when Dragline, a publication of the ACLU of West Virginia, broke the news after obtaining records from the West Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Office.
Snowshoe Mountain Resort sent a letter to the SRCD Board of Directors expressing “concern” and requesting an investigation. On December 19, 2025, the board held an emergency meeting and voted unanimously to terminate Loehmann, pledging to revisit hiring policies.18Snowshoe Resort Community District. SRCD Board of Directors Statement
How He Keeps Getting Hired
The pattern reflects weaknesses in the systems meant to vet law enforcement officers. In Cleveland, background investigators never pulled his Independence personnel file.9CNN. Cleveland Police Officer Timothy Loehmann In Tioga, officials failed to check the state’s Act 57 misconduct database before swearing him in.19The Philadelphia Inquirer. Tioga Background Check, Timothy Loehmann
West Virginia enacted legislation in 2021 setting minimum standards for hiring pre-certified officers, requiring agencies to document that candidates have passed a psychological assessment and polygraph, and mandating background investigations with nationwide criminal checks. Records gathered during hiring are classified as confidential and are not subject to the state’s open records law.20West Virginia Legislature. §30-29-14 Minimum Standards for Hiring of Pre-Certified Law-Enforcement Officers Despite that framework, Loehmann was hired by at least three West Virginia agencies in 2024 and 2025. The Chandra Law Firm, which represents the Rice family, filed a public records request with the Snowshoe Resort Community District seeking documents on the hiring; the district said it needed until March 2026 to produce them.21Cleveland 19 News. Former Cleveland Police Officer Who Shot and Killed Tamir Rice Hired by Two West Virginia Communities
Where Loehmann Is Now
As of late December 2025, Timothy Loehmann is not employed by any known law enforcement agency.1Cleveland.com. Officer Who Shot Tamir Rice No Longer Working for West Virginia Agencies No pending legal actions against him have been reported. After the Snowshoe termination, Samaria Rice said: “I still don’t understand how anyone can ever possibly hire Timothy Loehmann.”17Dragline. Officer Who Killed 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Just Got Two More Police Jobs in West Virginia