Hoo Boy: Cop Who Shot 12 Year Boy (Himself Armed With Toy Gun) Was "Weepy" on Firing Range; "Dismal" In Weapon Handling

This is one where my first reaction was, counter-intuitively, that the cop probably acted understandably, given that the kid had a toy gun.

But...

This guy seems to not have the Right Stuff for policework.

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'll refer you to the article for information about that. As I read the Cleveland police department's replies, I see them being evasive about whether they knew about Loehmann's poor performance at the gun range and firing. They say crap like "We had no instruction" about that, or "I have not received the file" rather than straight-up denying they had any such information.

That to me is pretty much an admission that they knew.

So why did this guy get hired?

And it gets worse. Though I see toy gun shootings usually as tragedies without villains -- who can blame a cop for mistaking a toy gun for the real thing? -- I can't apply that rule in a situation where the cops were warned in advance that the "gun" was likely fake. *

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.

Guy acted pretty swiftly, huh? Two seconds after arriving on the scene, he starts firing?

In a situation where he'd been advised the gun in question was likely fake?

So I guess the question I have is: Which Civil Servant Favor Bank Deposits and/or Nepotism Gifts were exchanged here?

* Update: That Guardian article may be misleading. Amish Dude tells me that while the 911 caller said the gun was "probably fake," that information may not have been communicated to Loehmann.

Wow: Now, does this make Loehmann unfit for duty, or does it mean the city of Cleveland must hire him, else be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Loehmann's troubles began in 2012 while he attended the Cleveland Heights Police Academy. An issue with an on-again, off-again girlfriend caused Loehmann distress and, in one case, he fell asleep during training, according to a written report from Independence Police Sgt. Greg Tinnirello.

Loehmann told Tinnirello that he cried often about his personal issue during training and Loehmann's mother told Tinnierello that her son's study papers "would be soaked in tears nightly for three months."

!!!!

On Nov. 26, 2012, Loehmann was ordered to stay in the Independence police dispatch center. Loehmann left without authorization and lied to Tinnierello that the dispatchers told him he could leave, the letter says.

Loehmann eventually admitted to lying.

The problems at Independence erupted on Nov. 28, 2012, the records say. Loehmann showed up "sleepy and upset" for a 6 a.m. state gun qualification session.

Tinnierello wrote that Loehmann "was distracted and was not following simple instructions" at the shooting range.

At one point, he went to the back of the range to reload his magazine and could not return to the line where he was supposed to shoot from, Tinnierello wrote. Loehmann appeared to be crying and was emotionally upset so Tinnierello said they would stop the exercise for the day.

So.

posted by Ace at 06:56 PM

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