Ex-cop who killed Tamir Rice resigns hours after being hired as sole police officer for Pennsylvania town

The former Cleveland police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014 was hired as the sole police officer for Tioga, Pennsylvania, a small town with a population of around 700 people, but resigned this Thursday just hours after news media reported on his hiring, Cleveland.com reports.

Tioga mayor David Wilcox said he was unaware of Timothy Loehmann's background when he was hired. According to ABC5, protesters express their displeasure with Loehmann's hiring.

"I was not allowed to take his resume or look into his background," the mayor said.

“I was under the impression that there was a thorough background check into him, that he didn’t have any issues,” Wilcox said Wednesday.

IN OTHER NEWS: Trump secretly left his social media company's board shortly before federal subpoenas dropped

“I found it strange that someone would move here all the way from Cleveland, Ohio, for $18 an hour. But I heard that he wanted to get away from it all and come here to hunt and fish.”

“While it is welcome news that Loehmann won’t be inflicting himself on the people of Tioga, the officials of that town need to be held accountable for their atrociously poor judgment,” said Subodh Chandra, the attorney for the Rice family.

Loehmann shot Rice on Nov. 22, 2014, while the boy was playing was an airsoft pellet gun. He died the next day. Loehmann was a rookie officer at the time and was a passenger in a police car driven by a training officer.