NILES, Ohio - After Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine revealed his efforts for law enforcement reform in Ohio Wednesday along with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, 21 News spoke with some local police departments to get their reaction.


I feel pretty comfortable and confident with the things that I am seeing proposed." said Captain John Marshall of the Niles Police Department. "Those are things that we are already doing and already have in place."


Marshall said Niles Police Department has required psychological tests, polygraph testing  and background checks before hiring a police officer candidate for years making them already in compliance with the reforms Governor DeWine laid out Wednesday.  

He said all of their officers have graduated from high school and many have bachelor degrees from universities. Once they're signed on at Niles Police Department, they undergo several annual trainings including use of force and firearms training. The governor asked the legislature to ban choke holds for officers unless the officer is justified in using deadly force. Marshall said that's already in place.

"Choke holds as I am interpreting it, like lateral vascular neck restraint, is not something that we have used."

Youngstown Police Department  is echoing similar protocols already in place.
"We do an annual review of use of force and don't just go out and qualify with our firearms," said Chief Robin Lees. "We do an annual review of when we should use them and under what circumstances."

They are also  trained in de-escalation tactics.