Sweeping Law Enforcement Reform Proposed In Ohio

COLUMBUS, OH — Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a series of sweeping law enforcement reforms on Wednesday.

"We must do more to make sure that officers who lack professionalism and show racial bias are not wearing a badge. The ultimate goal that I believe we all share is to rebuild public trust by improving law enforcement accountability, training, and transparency," DeWine said during a news conference.

Ohio Criminal Justice Services has been instructed to fund six hours of de-escalation and implicit bias training for any police officer who has not undergone such training. DeWine is also working with officials to identify a steady funding stream to support annual, mandated law enforcement training.

DeWine said he would make his proposals to the Ohio General Assembly for consideration.

The governor's proposals include:

• Ban the use of chokeholds by law enforcement, unless a police officer is fighting for their own life
• Independent investigations be made mandatory for all officer-involved shootings and all in-custody deaths
• All law enforcement should be required to wear body cameras
• Create a law enforcement oversight and accountability board, including both members of law enforcement and members of the public
  • "There is currently no mechanism in #Ohio to revoke a certificate for conduct that is egregious, but not criminal. Now is the time to begin treating peace officer certificates more like professional licenses," DeWine said.
  • Police who fail to report violations by other officers could face penalties.
• Require applicants to basic training for law enforcement to first pass a psychological exam assessing their aptitude and mental fitness
  • "We must add this condition to Ohio’s basic training now to help us prevent tragedies in the future. Ohio must make sure that only those with the right psychological makeup are admitted into an academy and eventually issued a peace officer certificate," DeWine said.
• Create a standard use-of-force definition and mandate all agencies report use-of-force incidents to Ohio Criminal Justice Services. All of this information would be publicly available
  • "Public data related to use-of-force will not only provide transparency for Ohio citizens, but it will also improve our understanding of why these incidents happen - so that we can proactively work to prevent them in the future," DeWine said.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has also created two public forums for Ohioans to share their recommendations and opinions on how to change or reform law enforcement. The state's Facebook-hosted forum has run into struggles with frequent racist and incendiary posts.