Cleveland) - An arbitrator has ruled that former police officer Timothy Loehmann will not get his job back.
Loehmann fire the shot that took the life of 12 year old Tamir Rice outside the Cudell Recreation Center 8 years ago.
However, Cleveland Police Patrolmens Association President Jeff Follmer says the union will appeal the decision, maintaining that Loehmann was clear of any policy or deadly force violations in the child's death.
Follmer and union attorney Henry Hilow claim City Hall has used a technicality to remove Loehmann from the police force.
On November 22, 2014, two police officers, 26-year-old Timothy Loehmann and 46-year-old Frank Garmback, responded after receiving a police dispatch call of a black male with a possible gun.
A caller reported that the gun was "probably fake". However, the information was not relayed to Loehmann or Garmback on the initial dispatch.
The officers reported that upon their arrival, they both continuously yelled "show me your hands" through the open patrol car window.
Loehmann further claimed that instead of showing his hands, it appeared as if Rice was trying to draw: "I knew it was a gun and I knew it was coming out".
In response, the officer shot twice, hitting Rice once in the torso. He died on the following day.Rice's gun was later found to be an airsoft replica that lacked the orange-tipped barrel, which would have indicated it was a nonlethal gun.
A funeral service for Rice was held at the Mount Sinai Baptist Church on December 3, 2014, with about 250 people in attendance.
(Photos by Ken Robinson/WTAM)
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