COLUMBUS – Governor Mike DeWine is proposing that all officer-involved shootings and the deaths of individuals in law enforcement custody be investigated and prosecuted by independent agencies.
The proposal announced Wednesday is one of several the Republican governor is asking lawmakers to take up immediately as part of sweeping police reforms in the state.
“It’s time for us to get these things done,” DeWine said.
The nation has been roiled in recent weeks by protests over the treatment of black men and women by police, leading to calls from the extreme left to “defund the police,” an idea DeWine has dismissed as “absurd.”
DeWine also wants the use of police choke holds banned in nearly all circumstances and is proposing a law enforcement oversight and accountability board similar to professional licensing boards for doctors and lawyers.
“We must begin treating our law enforcement officers like we treat those in other professions. They are truly professionals,” he said.
The board would to establish standards and a code of conduct for Ohio’s law enforcement officers. Violations could result in the suspension or revocation of a peace officer’s certificate.
DeWine also announced that the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services will begin developing a public database on use-of-force incidents whlie asking lawmakers to develop a standard use-of-force definition and enact a law that mandates the reporting of all use-of-force incidents.
DeWine and Attorney General David Yost are also encouraging the legislature to require that all basic training applicants pass a psychological exam.
While DeWine claims the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus was one of the groups that had some input on the proposals, House Minority Leader Emilia Strong-Sykes says the only conversation between the governor and the caucus was during a conference call hours before the announcement.
“Statehouse Republicans, from the governor to the speaker, don’t seem interested in truly listening to black Ohioans. They think they have the answers to hundreds of years of racism, brutality and oppression. They do not,” Strong-Sykes said in a statement calling on the General Assembly to follow the lead of communities like Columbus and Franklin County in declaring racism a public health threat.
Democrats in the Statehouse plan to introduce their own package of reforms, including the demilitarization of police, and bans on racial profiling and the use of tear gas.