Cop who Killed Tamir Rice Returns to the Police Force in Ohio

This Nov. 25, 2014, file photo, shows demonstrators blocking Public Square in Cleveland, during a protest over the police shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. A decision on whether to charge two white officers in the death of Tamir Rice, one of the higher-profile cases of black deaths at the hands of officers that have roiled cities nationwide, could come any day. The grand jury making the decision has been meeting since mid-October. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

BELLAIRE, Ohio (AP) — The former Cleveland police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice has been hired by a police department in a small Ohio village.

The Times Leader reports Bellaire’s police chief confirmed Friday he hired Timothy Loehmann as a part-time officer.

Richard Flanagan said Loehmann was never charged in Tamir’s death and deserves a second chance.

Bellaire is a village of about 4,000 along the Ohio River, more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) south of Cleveland.

Tamir, who was black, was playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center in 2014 when he was shot by Loehmann, who is white.

A grand jury declined to indict Loehmann. He was fired last year after it was discovered he was previously deemed “unfit for duty.”

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