COLUMBUS — A new bill introduced into the Ohio General Assembly Thursday morning focuses on reforming police practices, including how police shootings are investigated and a possible state-wide disciplinary database.
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Former Montgomery County Sheriff and current Rep. Phil Plummer is heading up the bill, which he says adds transparency and accountability. He also says that serious changes need to be made statewide.
“Let the citizens have a voice on how they’re being policed. Let them have a voice on policies and procedures,” Plummer said. “The status quo is just not working right now.”
The bill, if passed, would allow the General Assembly to study and implement professional police practices in Ohio.
The bill includes the following:
- Standardizing the disciplinary process and implementing a new disciplinary arbitration process
- Having the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation investigate all police-involved shootings
- Reviewing compensation for police officers and improve training
- Maintaining an adequate span of control and establishing a proper supervisor-to-officer ratio
- Establishing a time limit on how long a prosecutor has to present a case to a grand jury
- Establishing a police officer certificate oversight board
- Creating an internal complaint oversight committee for suspensions
- Streamlining traffic laws
- Terminating the employment of any police officer who is convicted of a felony or a first or second degree misdemeanor involving violence or physical harm
- Standardizing hiring practices to include mandatory psychological testing for any new recruit
- Exploring the elimination of civil service exams and modernizing hiring practices and other strategies to increase hiring of minority officers
- Exploring a state-wide disciplinary database for police officers, which shall include only suspensions that are a result of improper use of force or dishonesty or related to moral turpitude
- Exploring codifying recommendations of the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board
- Implementing mental health and crisis intervention training
- Studying implementation of a more stringent continuing education program
News Center 7 will be monitoring the status of the bill as it moves through the General Assembly and will provide updates as they develop.