TIOGA, Pa. — UPDATE FRIDAY: According to State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Tioga Borough violated state law when hiring a police officer who shot and killed a young boy in Cleveland back in 2014.
Timothy Loehmann was sworn in as the borough's new officer earlier this week but withdrew his application following backlash.
Now, the AG's office says no one from the borough accessed the police hiring database before his hiring. By not doing so, the borough violated state law.
Loehmann was at the center of a national controversy after he shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice eight years ago.
He never faced criminal charges but was eventually fired from the Cleveland police force.
A meeting is planned for next week in Tioga to decide on how borough council will move forward.
UPDATE THURSDAY: According to the Tioga borough website and WENY-TV, Timothy Loehmann has withdrawn his application to be a police officer in the borough.
Original story:
There's outrage in Tioga County after the police officer who shot and killed a 12-year-old boy in Cleveland back in 2014 was sworn in as the newest officer in the borough of Tioga.
A protest was held Wednesday in the borough where demonstrators rallied against the new hire, Timothy Loehmann.
Eight years ago, Tamir Rice from Cleveland, Ohio, became the symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The 12-year-old boy was outside playing with a pellet gun when a police officer arrived and seconds later shot and killed the boy.
That officer was Timothy Loehmann, who has moved to our area.
Loehman was not criminally charged for the deadly shooting, but he did eventually get fired from the Cleveland Police Department for lying on his application.
Loehman now has a new job as a police officer for Tioga borough in Tioga County.
People gathered to protest Wednesday night after hearing about the officer's past.
"Mainly the fact that what happened there weren't really any questions arise from that. It was a pretty open case, it was pretty common, everybody knows what happened, and it just feels there wasn't a lot of questions asked before him being sworn in," said Alex Bieser from Middlebury Township.
Our sister station WENY was in Tioga as borough residents demanded answers.
"That's kind of the sketchy part about it is nobody is giving any answers and.. there's a lot of different situations where you know..somebody didn't see this or I wasn't given this information," said Ben Shutter from Tioga borough. "And it's like maybe everybody should have the information before you make a decision like that especially, I don't mind newcomers, but someone who is not from around the area, you should probably dig a little deeper than normal."
"I was under the understanding through our police committee and borough president that they did an extensive background check on him, and everything checked out. Everyone they spoke to, clean record, um, and that was my understanding," said Tioga Mayor David Wilcox.
Mayor Wilcox told the crowd that he is not involved in the hiring process. He just makes the schedule.
Wilcox said that as long as he is making the schedule, Officer Loehmann will not be scheduled to work.
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