TIOGA, Pa. — Dozens attended a Tioga Borough Council Meeting asking for answers and voicing their displeasure after the department hired a police officer who shot and killed a twelve-year-old boy in 2014.
Officer Timothy Loehmann was sworn in as Tioga Borough's sole police officer on July 5th. A former police officer in Cleveland, Loehmann shot and killed Tamir Rice in 2014.
The twelve-year-old was holding a pellet gun, and the Department of Justice report showed Loehmann fired shots two seconds after opening the door of the police car.
He was never criminally charged, but his hiring sparked protest.
"The next morning, when I woke up, it was everywhere. It had just blown up like crazy. I was like, 'holy crap, this is the same person.' I was shocked," said Crystal Jones, Tioga.
Tioga Borough Mayor David Wilcox says the hiring was the borough council's decision.
"I was just blatantly lead from the beginning on who he was. The statement was made they knew about his background and that all his clearances had checked out," said Mayor Wilcox, Tioga Borough.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro sent a letter to the council president saying the borough did not follow state law and failed to complete the appropriate background checks.
Just days after he was sworn in, Loehmann withdrew his application and submitted his resignation.
Over the weekend, council president Steve Hazlett and councilwoman Mary Beth Hazlett submitted their resignations, along with the borough's attorney and the code enforcement officer.
At the meeting to accept Loehmann's resignation, Councilmen Alan Brooks moved to accept all the resignations at once. Councilmen Robert Wheeler, president of the police committee, took issue.
"I'm outta here. We're not going to do the meeting wrong. We can bring it up at the next one," said Robert Wheeler, Vice President, Tioga Borough Council.
The meeting continued, and all five resignations were accepted. Brooks says the Attorney General's office is looking into possible wrongdoing by the former council members.
"We're under investigation right now. We have them identified, and their responsibility is going to be brought forward, but without fact, we can make any accusations at this time," said Alan Brooks, councilmember.
"Somebody, somewhere, didn't do what they were supposed to do, and we need to make sure that doesn't happen again," said Jones.
Several residents in the crowd expressed interest in becoming council members themselves.
The mayor says he wants to push forward with transparency.
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