Tioga Borough violated law during police hiring process, Pennsylvania AG says

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tioga Borough officials violated state law when they hired Timothy Loehmann, the police officer who killed Tamir Rice in Cleveland in 2014.

Borough Mayor David Wilcox swore in Loehmann on Tuesday night after the borough council voted to approve his hiring as a police officer in the community of about 700 residents.

The move set off local protests in the borough, about eight miles south of the New York state line in northern Tioga County, along with a firestorm of criticism on social media.

Late Thursday morning, Tioga Borough Council President Steve Hazlett posted a brief update on his Facebook page, writing, "Effective this morning, Timothy Loehmann has officially withdrawn his application for the Tioga Borough police position." The post has since been deleted, but Hazlett confirmed the statement by phone Thursday to the USA TODAY Network.

Hazlett said withdrawing from consideration was Loehmann's idea.

Loehmann withdraws:Timothy Loehmann, who killed Tamir Rice, withdraws from Pennsylvania police position

Loehmann hired:Tioga, Pa. hires Timothy Loehmann, ex-Cleveland police officer who killed Tamir Rice

Tioga Borough failed to perform check before hire

In a letter to Tioga Borough Council president Steve Hazlett Friday, Shapiro said records show a check of the state's police hiring database was not performed when hiring Loehmann.

"To be clear, failure to thoroughly check a potential hire's background, including searching the database for any past disciplinary activities, is a violation of state law," Shapiro said.

Before any police officer is hired, Act 57 of 2020 requires the hiring agency to conduct a thorough background investigation before the prospective applicant can be employed, which includes reviewing the database.

Shapiro says the database is an important tool in the hiring process.

"Your failure to run this required check erodes the public's faith in your leadership and the public's trust in the officer you ultimately select."

Spotlight report: Statewide Pennsylvania police hiring database hindered by loopholes, lack of enforcement

Loehmann fired, resigned from previous positions

In 2014, after responding to a 911 call, Loehmann fatally shot Tamir Rice, who was 12.

Rice, who was Black, was playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 2014, when he was shot and killed by Loehmann seconds after Loehmann and his partner, Officer Frank Garmback, arrived.

The incident, occurring just three months after Michael Brown was shot in Ferguson, Missouri, set off nationwide protests, but in December 2015, a grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the officers.

Loehmann was later fired from the Cleveland Police Department for lying on his job application, in which he did not disclose that he was allowed to resign from Ohio's Independence Police Department after it was determined he was unfit to be a police officer.

In 2018, the Ohio village of Bellaire hired Loehmann as a part-time officer, but he resigned days later.

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This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Tioga Borough violated law during hiring process of Timothy Loehmann