COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday called for banning chokeholds by police officers in all but the rarest of circumstances, empowering a new board to revoke or suspend officers' certificates, and equipping all officers with body cameras.
Standing with fellow Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, Mr. DeWine said his package of reforms will ensure bad officers are weeded out, officers are given more scenario-specific training, and the shooting and killing of citizens by the police are independently and impartially investigated.
Both said the vast majority of officers are good, but that the actions of some paint them all with a broad brush.
“The vast majority of our officers do a bang-up job,” Mr. DeWine said. “They are the ones who get the angriest when they see an officer who's not doing what he should be doing. The only way the state can revoke a police officer's certificate today is if that officer is convicted of a felony... Now is the time, I believe, to treat police officer certificates more like a license. In fact, they should be licenses.”
He is asking the General Assembly, also controlled by Republicans, to mandate psychological fitness tests for all new recruits before they start basic training and mandate six hours of additional de-escalation training to help them recognize mental health or addiction issues, when use of force is justified, and to recognize their own implicit biases.
The state would pay for this training to ensure all police officers receive it.
“Not all agencies can afford additional training, which means some go years without additional training,” the governor said. “We have to ensure that all police officers have the knowledge and skills to serve the public.”
Mr. DeWine said the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police and the subsequent protests nationally against the disproportionate brutalizing of minorities by police have exposed strong feelings, but left him believing that most people are not that far apart on the basic issues.
“It's time to get these things done,” he said. “These are very, very significant steps that I think will engender trust, and people will be able to feel that cases are being investigated impartially, they’re going to be able to feel that the system will in fact work. This is something we need to get done.”
He said there are racial disparities in other areas, such as health and housing, and that his and Mr. Yost’s proposals address only the law enforcement aspect.
Among their proposals:
■ Police chokeholds on suspects would be banned unless the officers can subsequently demonstrate that their lives or those of others were in danger. Mr. DeWine said this, in practice, would amount to a near total ban.
■ Creation of a public database for reporting all use of force incidents.
■ The use of the attorney general's Bureau of Criminal Investigation to examine all officer-involved shootings and deaths, including cases involving the highway patrol, and the appointment of an independent prosecutor to oversee such cases.
“No more do-it-yourself investigations,” Mr. Yost said. “I believe the rules should apply to everybody... They apply to BCI, too... Independence is the bedrock principle that cannot be compromised.”
■ Mandate that police officers and state troopers be equipped with body cameras.
In addition to law enforcement representatives, Mr. DeWine said he spoke with members of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus and Tom Roberts, a former state lawmaker now heading the NAACP of Ohio.
But House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes (D., Akron) said the black caucus was not consulted until a conference call was held shortly before Mr. DeWine's news briefing about his proposals.
“These are not the recommendations of black lawmakers — far from it,” she said. “What we want is to uplift the voices of black Ohioans who we have heard from at protests, community meetings, and in everyday interactions.
“Statehouse Republicans, from the governor to the speaker, don’t seem interested in truly listening to black Ohioans,” Ms. Sykes said. “They think they have the answers to hundreds of years of racism, brutality, and oppression. They do not.”
Some of the proposals from the governor and attorney general mirror proposals that have emerged over the last week from state legislators.
House Republicans have also called for hiring more more minority officers and a statewide disciplinary process. House Democrats have urged Mr. DeWine to ban the use of tear gas and other chemical agents by all police departments and the practice of profiling.
First Published June 17, 2020, 8:15 p.m.
