Cop who shot Tamir Rice was "distracted and weepy" say ex-bosses

CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland police officer who fatally shot a 12-year-old boy holding a pellet gun was described by former supervisors as a "distracted and weepy" officer who failed to follow orders during firearms training, CBS affiliate WOIO reports.

Tamir Rice, 12, died the day after the Nov. 22 shooting, which sparked protests in Cleveland. A grand jury will consider whether to bring charges against the rookie officer, Tim Loehmann.

Before becoming a Cleveland police officer, Loehmann was an officer with the police department in nearby Independence, Ohio.

WOIO reports that Loehmann's personnel file at the Independence Police Department reveals that he resigned for "personal reasons" after being on the job just five months, from July 2012 until December 2012.

The station reports that Loehmann was described as "distracted and weepy," and on one occasion left his firearm in an unsecure locker.

According to the personnel file, supervisors questioned Loehmann's maturity and were already in the process of removing him from the police department when he left.

Loehmann started with Cleveland police in March 2014.

Loehmann's father, Fred Loehmann, told the Northeast Ohio Media Group that the officer thought Rice's gun was a real firearm and didn't know how young the boy was.

He recalled his son saying: "I was right there and he went for the gun. I had no choice."

At a memorial service held for Rice on Wednesday, the boy's uncle said that police need to change how they train officers and reevaluate how they communicate with dispatchers.