Task force aims to boost relations
Members submit ideas to help police, resident relations.
Independent investigations of officers’ use of deadly force and improved screening and training for police emerge as common themes in recommendations from members of Ohio’s Task Force on Community-Police Relations.
The 24-member group created by Gov. John Kasich in collaboration with black state legislators met yesterday to discuss potential solutions to overcoming mistrust and ill will between some police agencies and those they serve.
Members submitted dozens of recommendations, many of them focused on improving police accountability and transparency. No vote was taken on which ones will become part of the final report by the task force, which is scheduled to meet again on April 10.
More and improved officer-recruit training and ongoing training of veteran officers were oft-repeated suggestions, including an emphasis on dealing with the mentally ill and “cultural competency.” Higher minimum qualifications for newly hired officers and behavioral and “bias” assessments before hiring also were among the suggestions.
Several members said that police agencies should not be allowed to investigate deaths involving their officers, and they suggested that a state-level group or the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation handle the probe.
Still others, including state Rep. Alicia Reece, DCincinnati, suggested an open grand-jury review of officer-involved deaths and the appointment of independent prosecutors for cases.
The Fraternal Order of Police suggests hiring more minority officers and appropriating millions of state dollars to allow agencies to hire more officers for communitypolicing efforts and to buy non-lethal weapons to subdue suspects.
Oregon, Ohio, Police Chief Michael Navarre, representing the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, called for a “don’t pass the trash” database to permit agencies to determine whether someone they are considering hiring as an officer left another agency under a cloud. He also would require the mandatory use of body cameras by officers. Others want a use-offorce database to track and analyze officer-involved deaths, and a requirement that police agencies report information on traffic stops and other interactions with the public to detect possible racial profiling.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien suggested faster and moretransparent disclosure of information after fatal shootings by police. O’Brien also recommended the potential release of grand-jury testimony in deadly force cases.
The group of legislators, police officers, clergy members and others has conducted hearings around Ohio in the wake of the fatal shooting by police of a 12-year-old boy in Cleveland who had an air pistol and a man in Beavercreek who was carrying a pellet rifle he had taken off a shelf in a WalMart store.
At the previous taskforce meeting, Kasich called for “a balanced outcome” between community fears and officer safety. He said he stands ready to issue executive orders and seek legislation to achieve the task force’s recommendations