Newly released documents show that Tim Loehmann—the Cleveland officer who killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice on Nov. 22—resigned from his previous police job after a review by a supervisor identified multiple “deficiencies” in Loehmann’s performance and recommended that he no longer be employed. The personnel documents obtained by Cleveland.com indicate that while Loehmann was employed by the police force in Independence, Ohio he had problems following orders and was emotionally unstable; he failed to complete one firearms test because he was “weepy” and “distracted.”
“He could not follow simple directions, could not communicate clear thoughts nor recollections, and his handgun performance was dismal,” according to the letter written by Deputy Chief Jim Polak of the Independence police.
Loehmann resigned from the Independence force in Dec. 2012 after being told about the results of the review, which was conducted by deputy chief Polak. He was hired by the Cleveland police department in March of this year.
Loehmann’s father had previously told Cleveland.com that his son quit the job in Independence because he was, in the site’s words, “tired of the slow pace of suburban policing.”
