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A local sheriff has been chosen to be part of a state group that will review police training in Ohio.

 

 

“I was rather honored to be chosen for this commission,” Wood said.

 

The announcement of the commission comes after United States Attorney General Eric Holder announced in early December that an investigation into the Cleveland Division of Public Police revealed the use of excessive force during police incidents.

 

“Over the past several months, officer-involved shootings and use-of-force situations across Ohio and our nation have ended in tragedy,” said DeWine in a press release from the Attorney General’s Office. “Improving the trust between police and the communities they serve is vital to the functioning of our state and the safety of our communities.”

 

Wood said when he was told he was being considered for the panel, he thought about the events that have been going on throughout the last year in the U.S., including the Michael Brown protests and other incidents that involved law enforcement, and decided he wanted to help.

 

“Basically we’ll be looking at the structure of the use-of-force policies (within the state) and framing them to fit what new officers will need to know,” Wood said.

 

Wood will be joined by religious leaders from Akron, Cleveland and Dayton, the executive director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness for Ohio, a Cincinnati City Councilmember, the Clark County Prosecutor and a major from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Police departments from Delaware, Columbus, Westerville and Copley will also be a part of the panel, along with the vice president of Latino Affairs for Wright State University and a former director for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Rounding out the commission is a member of the Trumbull County Adult Probation Department and a lieutenant from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

 

The commission will have its first meeting Thursday in Columbus.