Officer who fatally shot 12-year-old boy won't get back job

CLEVELAND (AP) — An arbitrator says the white officer who was fired after fatally shooting a 12-year-old black boy playing with a pellet gun won't get back his job with Cleveland police.

Timothy Loehmann was cleared in the shooting of Tamir Rice but was fired in May 2017 for failing to disclose to Cleveland that he'd been previously forced out by another department.

Loehmann challenged his firing in an arbitration process. The police union confirmed Tuesday that Loehmann lost that challenge.

The Cleveland police union says it will appeal, calling the decision a "witch hunt."

Loehmann shot Tamir Rice within seconds of a cruiser skidding to a stop outside a Cleveland recreation center in November 2014.

The boy's mother, Samaria Rice, has said she hopes Loehmann won't work as a police officer again.