A West Virginia community’s outraged response to the hiring of the ex-Cleveland officer who fatally shot Tamir Rice was enough to make him and the police chief step down from his position.
D.S. Teubert voluntarily resigned as chief of the White Sulphur Springs Police Department after facing a heap of criticism for the hire of Timothy Loehmann. The former Cleveland officer was accused of pulling up on 12-year-old Rice on Nov. 22, 2014 after responding to a complaint of someone pointing a gun at people in the park.
Within moments of exiting the patrol car, Loehmann fired at Rice, killing him. Authorities confirmed later the boy was holding a replica toy gun.
In 2020, the ex-cop escaped federal charges in connection to the shooting. Though, Loehmann was still in-between jobs after being fired from the Cleveland Police Department in May 2017 for lying about his employment history, per CNN.
He hopped over to an Ohio village police department before withdrawing his application due to criticism. Then, after being sworn in as a Tioga officer in 2022, Loehmann left one shift later due to backlash, per The AP.
Former Chief Teubert then requested Loehmann work at the White Sulphur Springs PD as a probationary officer on July 1, according to a statement from Mayor Kathy Glover. Her excuse for allowing the recommendation to go through...? She didn’t know who he was.
“I did not know who he was, and I did not have all of the information that should have been given. It was something we were unaware of and not prepared for all the way around,” said Glover in a fiery town council meeting Monday night. “
Following another wave of anger and outrage, Loehmann resigned last week...and so did the chief. Teubert announced his decision step down from chief to his previous role as a patrolman.
The department wasted no time filling his spot either. Deputy Chief Julian R. Byer Jr. was promoted as chief Wednesday, the mayor said. She also vowed to ensure this type of situation doesn’t happen again. Some city council members suggested a the creation of a safety review board for an extra layer of accountability.
“This should in the future save our citizens and community from the perils of what everyone experienced in the last few weeks with the officer Loehmann ordeal,” said Councilman Ryan Lockhart during the meeting. “This will prohibit something of such magnitude from occurring again.”