Cleveland Police Fire Officer Who Shot Tamir Rice

CLEVELAND, OH — Officer Timothy Loehmann, who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice, has been fired by the City of Cleveland. Officer Frank Garmback, who drove the car Loehmann rode in, was suspended for 10 days for tactical errors made during the incident. The city held a press conference on Tuesday morning to announce the firing.

The city announced in January that it would punish Loehmann for falsifying his application to become a police officer. Loehmann failed to disclose that he had been found emotionally unfit to serve at the Independence Police Department. The city said that was why Loehmann was terminated.

Police Chief Calvin Williams said the investigation into Loehmann was delayed because of the county prosecutor's investigation. He said a Critical Incident Review Committee was tasked with looking at everything related to the Tamir Rice shooting in February 2016. That group went through all of the evidence related to the case. The group issued a final report in November 2016. Both Loehmann and Garmback were cleared of wrongdoing in the incident.

As a result of the investigation into Loehmann, the city discovered that he had falsified his application to become a police officer. A disciplinary hearing was conducted on May 2 for Loehmann leading to his firing on Tuesday morning.

Williams said that as a result of the Rice incident, all police cars now have first aid kits within them. Body cameras have been distributed to most police officers, and new tactics and training have been given to Cleveland Police. He said he hopes the city will never have another incident like the shooting of Rice.

"I want to again give my condolences to the family of Tamir Rice," Mayor Frank Jackson said at the press conference.

It was also announced in January that Loehmann would not face disciplinary action for the shooting of Rice. The Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association said it was "encouraged" Loehmann had not been charged for shooting Rice but decried the disciplinary actions brought forward after it was revealed he falsified his police application. The CPPA said the charges had been drummed up to punish Loehmann for shooting Rice.

Garmback was also charged in January for making two tactical errors preceding the shooting. First, the city says that Garmback drove too close to a potential suspect. Second, he failed to report his and Loehmann's arrival to the dispatcher. Those errors led to his 10-day suspension.

Watch the city's press conference below.

A screenshot of surveillance video showing the police shooting of Rice on Nov. 22.