The former Cleveland, Ohio police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice has filed an appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court to get his job back. Lawyers for Timothy Loehmann filed the appeal last week. Earlier this year, his legal team’s appeal was dismissed due to “a police union’s failure to serve notice on outside attorneys hired by the city,” reports NBC News. A police union wants the Supreme Court to reverse that ruling.

On Monday (April 26), Jeff Follmer, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, said that he wished the 8th District Court of Appeals had not decided the former officer’s case on a technicality.

“They’re trying to say that we didn’t file this in a timely manner, and we’re saying, ‘Yes we did,’ and we want the appeal and its merits to be heard,” he said.

“It was investigated by the sheriff’s department, by the grand jury, the county and it was even reviewed by a civilian board set up by the chief,” he added. “The only thing they found that he did wrong was lied on his application, which we’re disputing that he did not lie on his application… Everything else was justified.”

Back in 2014, Loehmann shot and killed Rice after responding to a call that someone was waving a gun at people. Within seconds of arriving at the scene with another officer, the former cop opened fire on the young boy, although he only had a toy gun. Loehmann claimed Rice reached for his waistband and the shooting was ruled justified.

In 2017, he was fired from the Cleveland Police Department, but not for the shooting. He was terminated for lying on his job application and violating other policies.

In a statement to FOX 8, Samaria, the mother of Rice, said, “The police union should be ashamed of itself for still trying to put a dangerous police officer back on the street. Every time they try to do this, they hurt my family and put the public at risk.”