Ohio court rejects appeal from ex-officer who killed Tamir Rice

The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from the white officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014.

An appeal was filed on behalf of former Clevland police officer Timothy Loehmann by the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association in April, requesting that Loehmann be able to return to his job, The Associated Press reported.

Loehmann was fired in 2017 for submitting false information on his initial job application and not for his involvement in Rice’s killing. A county judge and arbitrator both upheld his firing at the time, the AP noted.

Earlier this year, an Ohio appellate court dismissed Loehmann’s appeal, stating that the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association did not give notice on attorneys hired by the city.

Loehmann was a rookie in 2014 when he responded to call that someone was waving a gun around. The caller also specified that the person could be a child and that the gun may have been fake.

Loehmann shot the boy within seconds of arriving on the scene.

Last December, a grand jury declined to indict Loehmann in connection to the shooting and declined to bring federal charges against him.

“I am glad that Loehmann will never have a badge and gun in Cleveland again,” Samaria Rice, Tamir’s mother, said in a statement on Tuesday.

In April, Rice’s family asked the Department of Justice to reopen an investigation into the boy’s death.