Cleveland fires officer, suspends another in Rice shooting

May 30 (UPI) -- The city of Cleveland fired the rookie police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice and suspended the cop who drove the patrol car in 2014, officials announced Tuesday.

Timothy Loehmann, who killed Rice, was fired because of inaccuracies on his application form, Cleveland Public Safety Director Michael McGrath said at a news conference.

Loehmann, 27 at the time of the incident, was previously cited in a disciplinary letter for failing to reveal during the Cleveland police application process that the suburban Independence Police Department allowed him to resign rather than fire him after a six-month probationary period. He also was in a probationary period with Cleveland police, 10 months, when the shooting occurred.

Frank Garmback, who was driving the cruiser that skidded to a stop near the boy on Nov. 22, 2014, was suspended for 10 days for violating a tactical rule for his driving that day. In a discipline letter, Garmback, 47 at the time of the shooting, was cited for driving too close to Rice. In a video of the shooting, the patrol car skids to a stop just feet from the boy.

Loehmann shot Tamir less than three seconds after arriving at Cudell Recreation Center.

Mayor Frank Jackson said the city went through an "exhaustive process" in determining disciplinary action.

Earlier this year, the 911 dispatcher who took the call that led to the shooting was suspended for eight days. Constance Hollinger didn't tell the officers that the man who called 911 about "a guy" pointing a gun at people said the suspect could be a juvenile and the gun might be a "fake."

And William Cunningham, who was working off-duty as an officer at the rec center without permission, was suspended for two days.

In April 2016, the city paid a $6 million settlement to Tamir's family.

But the Critical Incident Response Committee concluded that neither Garmback nor Loehmann violated any police policies during the shooting.