Ohio AG Dave Yost to seek reforms for police investigations, use-of-force policies – cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, OhioAttorney General Dave Yost said Tuesday he will ask state lawmakers to change Ohio law regarding how investigations of police-caused deaths are conducted, as well as require every police department in the state to have a use-of-force policy.

Yost, a Columbus Republican, said in an interview that he also intends to announce new training for law-enforcement later this week.

The AGs proposals will come after almost two weeks of protests in Ohio cities and around the country in response to the death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis resident who was killed by a police officer on May 25. However, Yost said he and his office have been working on the proposed reforms for about nine months.

Yost said he would unveil more details in the next couple of days about the proposed reforms.

Hundreds of Ohio police departments have voluntarily implemented statewide use-of-force standards developed by a bipartisan task force created in 2015 after the police-involved shootings of Tamir Rice in Cleveland and John Crawford III near Dayton. But Yost noted that theres no requirement under current Ohio law for police departments to have a use-of-force policy, and some departments still dont have one.

I think that that's something that needs to be resolved, the AG said.

He also said that new training modules will be launched over the next four months through the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in London. Yost has already laid off an entire level of instructors 27 in total at the academy and will replace them with guest instructors to teach continuing education classes on topics such as driving, firearms, and use-of-force.

Yost said he agrees with Gov. Mike DeWines proposal to license law-enforcement officers in Ohio the same way teachers, nurses, and other professionals are licensed.

There needs to be state licensing and some minimum standards that are for conduct as part of that licensure, Yost said.

Certainly the grant of public power to police officers has a far greater public interest and public impact than the practice of a nurses aide in a nursing home, or a plumber or an electrician, he added later.

Yost said hes talked with DeWine about these issues and expects to work together with the governor to enact reforms. The governor said last week he also intends to lobby state lawmakers to bolster police-training standards, as well as improve police transparency, recruit more police officers of color, and create a list of best practices for all police departments in the state to follow.

Asked for his opinion on how police in Ohio have responded to the ongoing protests, Yost said hes seen some troubling incidents in different cities.

Ive seen some video that sure looked like the responses were inappropriate, Yost said. But (for) the vast majority, Ive been extremely impressed with the discipline and restraint and professionalism of Ohios peace officers.

However, the AG scoffed at calls in Minneapolis and elsewhere to defund police departments.

There are predators in the world. When one is at my familys door, I do NOT want my 911 call to bring a social worker in a Prius, Yost wrote on Twitter. Better policing, yes. Defunding, no.

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Ohio AG Dave Yost to seek reforms for police investigations, use-of-force policies - cleveland.com