Officer Timothy Loehmann’s firing is effective immediately; patrol car driver is suspended for 10 days stemming from 2014 shooting.
CLEVELAND — The police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice in 2014 was fired by the city of Cleveland on Tuesday, and the other officer who was there was suspended, city officials announced.
The firing of Officer Timothy Loehmann, who shot Rice, is effective immediately. Officials said Loehmann’s termination was because of alleged misinformation on his employment application to the Cleveland Police Department, not his conduct in the shooting.
The other officer, Frank Garmback, drove the patrol car. His 10-day suspension starts Wednesday, said Police Chief Calvin Williams. Garmback also will be required to attend additional tactical training.
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Rice, 12, was shot and killed Nov. 22,2014, outside a Cleveland recreation center. The officers were called to the scene on a report of a person waving a gun. Rice was holding an airsoft weapon.
Officials said the officers did not violate any rules other than failing to inform communications of their position during the moments leading up to the shooting.
A disciplinary letter against Loehmann has previously cited his failure to reveal during the Cleveland police application process that a suburban department allowed him to resign instead of being fired at the end of a six-month probationary period.
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Garmback, who was driving the cruiser that skidded to a stop near the boy, violated a tactical rule for his driving that day.
A discipline letter against Garmback cited him for driving too close to Rice. Video of the shooting shows the patrol car skidding to a stop just feet from the boy.
In a separate news conference Tuesday, Samaria Rice, Rice’s mother, said she was relieved by the news.
“I’m relieved that Loehmann was fired, as he should be, ” she said. “He should never have been a police officer anyway. Garmback should be fired also for pulling up so close to Tamir, to create the murder of Tamir. Now we all must get involved to create a safer community.”
While relieved, Samaria Rice wishes Loehmann would have been fired for killing her son.
“We still need accountability. … We need to make sure he never gets hired again in the next process that they take. … He should have never been an officer in the first place and shame on the city of Cleveland for taking so long to handle this situation, ” she said.
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Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said the city went through an “exhaustive process” in determining disciplinary action.
The investigation was handled by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and Sheriff’s officers.
The prosecutor’s office decided not to pursue charges against the officers involved.
A review committee looked at the case until August 2016 to draft a report, which was presented to Williams. After Williams’ review, the report was sent to the director of Public Safety for administrative hearings on both officers.
Last month, video of the officers’ administrative hearings was made public.
Garmback told investigators he didn’t know Rice was a child at the time of the shooting while Loehmann told officials, “I thought I was going to die.”
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The dispatcher who handled the call was suspended eight days for failing to relay critical information to officers Loehmann and Garmback during the incident.
Williams said the department may have discovered Loehmann’s application error eventually, but the investigation into the Rice shooting facilitated the process.
Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow WKYC-TV on Twitter: @wkyc
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