Protestors in front of the Tioga (Pa.) Borough Hall late Wednesday evening July 6, 2022. A group of about 50 people gathered against the hiring of the police officer that shot and killed Tamir Rice in 2014. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

They’d rather have no police officer at all than Timothy Loehmman.

That was the common sentiment when protestors and Borough Mayor David Wilcox gathered at the Tioga Borough office Wednesday night.

Loehmann, then an officer of the Cleveland Police Department, fatally shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in November of 2014. Loehmann was not indicted by a grand jury, but was fired by the Cleveland police for lying on his application when he said he left his previous police job, when in fact, he had been forced out by the Independence, Ohio, Police Department for being “emotionally unfit for duty.”

He was sworn in as the new police officer in Tioga on Tuesday — though as of Thursday had signaled his intention to leave the force.

Tioga, a borough of about 700 nestled against the New York state line, has been without a single officer in their department for nearly a year and a half now. Tioga Township would also use Loehmann as an officer as part of a resource-sharing agreement between the two entities.

That won’t fly for township resident Jessica Trump. When asked whether she’d rather have no officer at all or Loehmann she responded,

“No police officer, I wouldn’t even hesitate.”

That sentiment was shared by every protestor the Sun-Gazette spoke to on Wednesday, with nearly a dozen saying the same thing.

Community members are concerned that in a town where kids are routinely running around, some of those kids with special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, that Loehmann will act as he did in Cleveland.

“I’m mostly concerned about our youth,” said Trump, who has two daughters aged 12 and 15. “We haven’t had a police officer in Tioga for quite a while now, and it seems like things have been going okay. And I’m concerned that this police officer really doesn’t give off a feeling of safety and protection that I want for my children; it seems that he would cause more terror and just trouble for them.”

Near the end of the 45-minute protest, Wilcox stood in the bed of a pickup truck and addressed the crowd of around 50.

There, he outlined how he was not allowed to review Loehmann’s resume and that he usually doesn’t swear in borough employees, as it is usually done through a notary at a local bank. But, Borough Council President Steve Hazlett asked him if he was going to be in attendance at Tuesday’s Borough Council meeting to swear in the new officer.

Wilcox, who is not involved in voting on a new hire or selecting the candidate that will be presented to the board, but was in the interview for Loehmann, remembers Loehmann talking about getting a promotion of some sorts after Cleveland, and thought he mentioned fundraising for the Fraternal Order of Police. There is no record of any such activity.

Wilcox controls the scheduling of the police officer and told those that attended that he would not be scheduling Loehmann for any shifts, emphasizing the need for borough council to call a special meeting and remove Loehmann. Thursday morning, Loehmann submitted his intent to withdraw his application to serve with the police department and Tioga Borough Council will meet at 6 p.m. July 12 to consider the withdrawal.