CLEVELAND — The former Cleveland police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014 has been hired by two different West Virginia police departments, according to a report by a nonprofit news organization.
Dragline, which is affiliated with the American Civil Liberties Union in West Virginia, said public records show Timothy Loehmann was hired to work part-time at the Snowshoe Resort Community District in June and was hired as an officer by the Gilmer County Sheriff's Office in August.
Loehmann shot Rice within a few seconds of stepping out of his cruiser after he and his partner, Officer Frank Garmback, responded to a call about a person with a gun at the Cudell Recreation Center.
Gilmer County Sheriff's Office
When News 5 Investigators reached out to the Gilmer County Sheriff's Office, a sheriff's deputy and the county clerk, Angel Ball, said Loehmann no longer works for their office.
News 5 requested records related to Loehmann's employment, but has yet to receive them.
Snowshoe Resort Community District
News 5 Investigators also reached out to the Snowshoe Resort Community District, but did not receive a response.
However, the district posted a meeting notice online this morning. The only item on Friday morning's meeting agenda is listed as an "Executive Session to Discuss Personnel."
Response from Samaria Rice's attorney
Subodh Chandra, the attorney who represents Tamir Rice's mother, Samaria, released the following statement:
"Groundhog Day came early. Timothy Loehman just can't stop inflicting himself on people. He rushed on and slew a 12-year-old child without justification. He lied on his application to become a Cleveland cop about his atrocious record as a cop in Independence, Ohio in which he was deemed to have an "inability to emotionally function," leading to a recommendation he be fired. Now, after being hired and being forced to leave several municipalities since then, he puts people in other communities at risk.
Timothy Loehmann has no business being entrusted with a badge and a gun. And those who were imbecilic and heartless enough to hire him should be stripped of their jobs, just as has happened in other communities. What is wrong with these people? They have betrayed the public trust.
The Rice family hopes people will rise up and protest, just as they did in other towns where Loehmann was entrusted with a weapon again. And anyone with decency and safety concern should boycott the Snowshoe Resort until it talks some sense into the District."
Tamir's mother, Samaria, told Dragline that she doesn't understand why Loehmann still wants to be a police officer, that it reflects broken systems in policing, and said, "These communities should be scared for their lives."
Previous policing jobs
The West Virginia jobs are Loehmann's fourth and fifth efforts to restart his policing career.
Cleveland fired Loehmann in 2017 for lying on his application to the Cleveland Division of Police. City officials said Loehmann failed to disclose that he was dismissed from the Independence Police Department.
Loehmann was hired by three other police departments, but quickly resigned from each position after public protests and scrutiny over his hiring.
He briefly worked for White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in 2024.
He was hired by the police in Tioga, Pennsylvania, in 2022.
He was hired in Bellaire, Ohio, in 2018.
News 5 Investigators reached out to Loehmann for comment. But no one answered our call.
