African American leaders weigh-in on Gov. DeWine's police reform proposal
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -
Some of our Valley's African American leaders are weighing-in on Governor Mike DeWine's latest proposal for police officer reform.
21 News sat down with the panel for a special Edition of "Press Pass" that will air on WFMJ on Sunday. During that conversation we asked for their response to two parts of Governor's DeWines proposal.
First, the call for psychological testing before an officer can enter the police academy. And secondly, the call for more advanced training for officers already on a police force.
"Quite frankly there have been psychologically tested officers that have still fired guns unnecessarily," said Rev. Todd Johnson with Second Baptist Church in Warren. "If someone is psychologically tested at their hiring and they are on the force for 5 or 6 years and they start to develop bitter feelings toward the community or feel disrespected by some guy, six years later that psychological testing is pretty much out the window. We all know life can change you in a moment."
The other proposal we spoke with the panel about was to ask the general Assembly to finance a reimbursement for six hours of training on use-of-force, implicit bias and the de-escalation of situations.
"He said 2020," questioned Jaladah Aslam with Youngstown Warren Black Caucus. "So is that every year? Or is that just now to kind of appease people and keep things quiet?"
The answer: Governor DeWine said in a press release that the proposal is a "short-term solution" since Ohio law currently prohibits the state from mandating advanced training without reimbursement.
"The effort from the governor is a good start, but that just doesn't make this go away because that's what you propose," said Rev. Kenneth Simon with New Bethel Baptist Church in Youngstown.
And another concern raised by the group is that much of what the Governor is proposing is just that; a "proposal."
"He said he was asking the General Assembly. That means it's not an executive order. It needs to be passed by the General Assembly that means the politics just entered into the sphere. Who knows what's going to happen," said Aslam.
"We need to get to the 'Real McCoy,' really get some head on true,written down policy as far as change,' said Tom Conley with the Greater Youngstown Urban League.
You can hear more from the panel on other issues of "Race in the Valley" during "Press Pass" Sunday on WFMJ Weekend Today.
