COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the second time this week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is outlining his plan to tackle the source of recent social unrest: police accountability.
What You Need To Know
- Governor DeWine is prioritizing police accountability
- He’s asking for help from citizens, law enforcement and lawmakers
- Wednesday he announced he’s banning the practice of police chokeholds
- He is vowing to outfit every officer in Ohio with a body camera
He says that starts with weeding out the bad officers and beefing up training and deescalation for the rest.
“There are some officers in Ohio that are just not cut out to be in law enforcement. They have no place being in a position of trust. We must do more to make sure that officers who lack that professionalism and who show racial bias and who are biased are not wearing a badge in the state of Ohio,” DeWine said.
But he says he can’t do it alone.
“I am asking the General Assembly to start a discussion with me, the attorney general, and with the public to find a permanent funding stream for law enforcement training,” said DeWine.
While there’s no specific price tag for this new push, Attorney General Dave Yost says it’s a problem they can no longer afford to ignore.
“This is not a law enforcement problem, this is a societal problem that has a law enforcement dimension,” said Yost.
DeWine says solving this societal problem starts with law enforcement. He says he’s working with the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus on best practices and more thorough tracking of those tasked with protecting the public.
“Right now, unfortunately, we do not have a wholistic picture of how often use of force happens in Ohio, let alone, let alone if the force was justified or excessive,” DeWine said.
