This cop murdered my 12-year-old son

Stop defending the officer who killed Tamir Rice, and don't let him back on the police force. Putting Timothy Loehmann back on the streets with a badge and gun would threaten public safety, and send the dangerous message that police officers are above accountability for their actions.

Dear fellow MoveOn member,

Cleveland's police union president, Jeff Follmer, is assisting Timothy Loehmann—the officer who murdered my 12-year-old son, Tamir Rice—in getting his job back as a Cleveland police officer. I won't let it happen without a fight, and I'm asking you to join me.

The Cleveland Police Department fired Timothy Loehmann after he murdered Tamir and an investigation showed that he lied on his job application—hiding the fact that another police department had determined he was emotionally unfit and incapable of being a police officer.

Cleveland's police union has been fighting to get Loehmann his job back ever since. Police unions often get corrupt and dangerous officers back in their jobs after the public's attention has moved on. We can stop that from happening—and make it less likely in the future—by publicly confronting the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association. Will you join me?

Join me in telling Cleveland's police union: Stop defending the officer who murdered my son Tamir and trying to get him back on the police force. I'll use our petition signatures to publicly confront the police union.

Stop defending the officer who killed Tamir Rice, and don't let him back on the police force. Putting Timothy Loehmann back on the streets with a badge and gun would threaten public safety and send the dangerous message that police officers are above accountability for their actions.

Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir less than one second after getting out of his car. He should never have been hired, and he should never have been in a position to take Tamir's life. He's unstable, dishonest, dangerous, and he's already killed unjustly and recklessly. He definitely shouldn't be on the streets with a badge and gun, and ever since he murdered Tamir, I've been fighting to make sure that doesn't happen.

The Cleveland police department's leadership decided Loehmann shouldn't be a police officer. After the police union appealed that decision, a labor arbitrator recently ruled against them—but they're still fighting to get him back on the streets with a badge and gun. Loehmann also recently tried to get another job at a nearby Ohio police department—and he was forced to withdraw his application after I spoke out, along with thousands of people in Ohio and across the country. Now it's time for us to speak out again.

It is outrageous that there's even a chance Loehmann would get his job back. But, as I said, police unions often succeed in reinstating abusive and corrupt officers after the community's attention has moved on. That's what they're trying to do here.

Police unions aren't used to being challenged publicly. If enough of us speak out against what the police union is doing, it will make it less likely they succeed in getting Loehmann his job back. And the police union will know that when they defend corrupt, violent, and dangerous officers, they'll be called out and challenged in a way that damages their reputation and weakens their power—making them think twice about defending the next Timothy Loehmann.

Join us in confronting the Cleveland police union for defending Tamir Rice's killer. Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thank you.

—Samaria Rice

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