• …Unless the officer is fighting for his life or protecting another
• Ensures officers who show racial bias are not wearing a badge.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has requested the Ohio General Assembly to ban chokeholds for police officers in Ohio unless the officer is justified in using deadly force in situations where an officer is fighting for his or her own life or protecting the life of another.

“To improve transparency in Ohio, I’m asking the Ohio General Assembly to create a standard use-of-force definition and mandate that all agencies in the state report information on these incidents to Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, OCJS. This information should be available to the public,” Governor DeWine said at a briefing with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on plans for meaningful law enforcement reform in Ohio.

“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.”

Governor DeWine said that, “many law enforcement agencies in Ohio have worked hard to improve community-police relations and enhance public trust, and we should acknowledge these efforts. But we must also acknowledge that there are some officers in Ohio who have no place being in a position of trust.”

“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.”

On training, Governor DeWine said “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.”

“Today I am asking the Ohio General Assembly to require that those who apply to take law enforcement basic training must first pass a psychological exam showing they are fit for this career.”

Governor DeWine said “I have directed Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, OCJS to fund six total hours of de-escalation training, use-of-force training, and implicit bias training in 2020 for any Ohio officer who has not yet received training on these critical topics this year.”

“I’m also calling on the Ohio General Assembly to mandate independent investigations and prosecutions for all officer-involved shootings and all in-custody deaths. It’s time that this process becomes automatic and mandatory for every law enforcement agency in Ohio.”

“Be it assistance from Ohio Attorney General Yost’s office or another qualified, neutral agency – outside investigators and prosecutors should always be involved in these incidents.”