In 2014, then-Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann shot and killed Tamir Rice. Tamir, a 12-year-old black boy, was playing outside in a park with an Airsoft pellet gun. Loehmann, a white man who had been with the department merely eight months, shot the child in the chest. Tamir died the following day.
Now, attorneys for Loehmann are appealing the officer’s firing. According to Henry Hilow, an attorney for the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association and Jeff Follmer, the union president, the appeal was filed recently in Cuyahoga county court.
And make no mistake; Loehmann wasn’t even fired because he shot and killed a child. He was cleared of that. Instead, he was fired in 2017 because he failed to disclose that he’d been (essentially) forced out of his job at a different department in the past. Why? He’d been deemed emotionally unfit for duty.
Since then, yet another police department in Ohio has hired Loehmann. How many chances does a white man get?
To review what Loehmann did: In November 2014, Loehmann (alongside officer Frank Gamback) responded to a 911 call that alleged a black male was “pulling a gun out of his pants and pointing it at people.” Notably, the caller repeatedly told the dispatch unit that the gun was “probably fake” and that the person in question was “probably a juvenile.” According to authorities, dispatch did not relay these details to the responding officers.
The officers allege that the child reached into his waistband (as an attempt to draw a weapon) when he was instructed to show the officers his hands.
Remember: Tamir was 12. Oh, and he was playing near a recreation center. Which is, you know, what kids do.
Several days after the shooting, surveillance footage (which conflicted with Loehmann’s report) was released. The footage reveals important details, including the fact that Loehmann shot the child within literal seconds of the officers arriving at the scene. How fast? The cruiser was still in motion.
Subodh Chandra, who represents the Rice family, said it was “unfortunate” the union “continues to embrace lawlessness in law enforcement” in a statement on the recent appeal.
Studies show that black boys tend to be viewed as not only older than white boys, but also less innocent. This stems from the racism and implicit bias that likely impacted Loehmann and other officers who are quick to turn to violence against men of color (or in this case, a boy of color). When looking at police brutality in general, police officers are also more likely to use force when they’ve “dehumanized” black children.
Even when you don’t look at force, studies show that black boys are 18 times more likely to be tried as an adult than white boys. And yes, that’ s when looking at the same exact offenses.
Cleveland police have been criticized for using “dangerous tactics” that put their community at risk, including unreasonable and unnecessary force, as reported by CNN.
“Officer Loehmann has been treated unfairly by the city and the arbitration,” Follmer told a Fox affiliate after the appeal was filed. “We are hoping whatever county judge receives this appeal will go on the merits of fact and not political pressure.”
Disgusting.