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Criminal investigators in Ohio are getting help from the feds to solve crimes
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, said the state’s crime fighting efforts are improving thanks to a partnership that can help law enforcement analyze ballistic evidence faster. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) will now have a direct link to the National Correlation and Training Center — a… Read More

Supreme Court makes it easier to sue for malicious prosecution
By: Nina Totenberg | NPR
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday made it easier to sue police and prosecutors for malicious prosecution. But the decision still leaves in place other barriers to such lawsuits. At the center of the ruling is a case of diaper rash. Yes, diaper rash. Larry Thompson was living with his then… Read More

Ohio is expanding its gun ballistics testing program
By: Matt Richmond | WKSU
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKSU) — In an effort to prevent gun violence in Ohio, the state is planning to spend $10.5 million dollars to expand police use of ballistics testing technology. The money would purchase machines to scan casings from fired ammunition to compare with other casings in the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network or NIBIN…. Read More

Gun safety advocates urge DeWine to veto a controversial gun bill
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — A group of gun control advocates is urging Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to veto Sub Senate Bill 215, legislation that would allow Ohioans to carry concealed weapons without a permit or training requirements. Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey is one of the law enforcement officials urging the veto. And… Read More

DeWine says Ohio needs to fund the police
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — A total of $250 million from the federal government will go to help first responders, mainly police and troopers, who are far more likely to have depression and burnout. And Ohio Fraternal Order of Police President Jay McDonald said officers are more likely to die by suicide than the… Read More

Lawsuit argues Ohio’s police officers aren’t meeting state training requirements
By: Matt Richmond | ideastream
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CLEVELAND (Ideastream) — Mariah Crenshaw has spent years building a case that officers around Ohio are violating state law simply by continuing to serve as officers. It started in 2014. Crenshaw runs the advocacy group Chasing Justice, and she wanted to know how the Cleveland Division of Police collects training documentation for officers who are… Read More

Virtual reality brings ‘soft skills’ training to law enforcement in Appalachian Ohio
By: Kaitlin Thorne | Ohio Valley ReSource
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ATHENS COUNTY, Ohio (OVR) – On a chilly fall morning deputies with the Athens County Sheriff’s Department reported for annual training in Nelsonville, OH. Sitting among bullet proof vests and diagrams of guns and safety measures, the officers’ weapons remained holstered. Instead of target practice, this morning officers wore virtual reality headsets to watch interactions… Read More

In Ohio, Videos Are Public Records But Sometimes Police Refuse To Release
By: Matt Richmond | ideastream
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (ideastream) — Over the past few years, police departments across the country have grappled with what to do when a video in their possession captures the use of deadly force by a police officer. After 12-year-old Tamir Rice was killed by a Cleveland police officer in 2014, the city of Cleveland initially withheld… Read More

Athens Law Enforcement To Receive New High-Tech Training
By: Curtis Feder
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Students and staff at Ohio University have collaborated with local law enforcement to create a new de-escalation training program for their officers. This immersive program will be used by the Athens County Sheriff’s Office and the Athens and Ohio University police departments. Officers will undergo training in a different style than in… Read More

Group Wants Voters To End Qualified Immunity In Ohio
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — A group has taken the first step to asking voters next year to eliminate qualified immunity for police officers and other government employees accused in shootings or other actions. The group calling itself Accountability Ohio Now filed paperwork Monday, and then gathered to promote the issue in front of the… Read More

Columbus Mayor Requests Federal Probe Of Police Force
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther has asked the Department of Justice for an investigation into the city’s police department following a series of police killings of Black people. The Democratic mayor says while the city is committed to reform and has already established a number of “significant” changes in the past few… Read More

Prosecutor Confirms Missing Girl Is Author Of Facebook Post
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens County’s prosecutor confirmed Wednesday the author of a recent Facebook post is a girl from Amesville who was missing for a year. Keller Blackburn said law enforcement has made contact with Serah Bellar and she is safe. Bellar was reported missing on April 3, 2020. She was 16 at the… Read More

Law Enforcement Investigating Whether Facebook Post Is From Missing Girl
By: David Forster
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(UPDATE 4/28/21 1:22 p.m.) Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn on Wednesday confirmed the Facebook post from Monday was made by Serah Bellar. _____________________________________ ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens County law enforcement are investigating a Facebook post by someone who says she is an Amesville teenager who went missing a year ago. The Facebook post was… Read More

Columbus Police Officer Charged With Murder In Andre Hill Death
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A white Ohio police officer has been charged with murder in the latest fallout following the December shooting death of 47-year-old Andre Hill, a Black man, the state’s attorney general says. Columbus Police Officer Adam Coy was indicted Wednesday by a Franklin County grand jury following an investigation by the Ohio… Read More

DeWine Proposes $10 Million For Police Body Cameras
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Hundreds of law enforcement agencies in Ohio will be able to buy body-worn cameras through a $10 million grant Gov. Mike DeWine proposed in his budget. DeWine said Wednesday that just over 180 of the state’s about 900 law enforcement agencies both have body cameras for officers and are following the… Read More

Security Remains High At Ohio Statehouse On Inauguration Day
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — On this inauguration day, security remains high at the Ohio Statehouse after preparations for a weekend armed march that never fully materialized. They included a stepped-up increase of law enforcement and limited access to the building. Gov. Mike DeWine said there were “credible threats” of violence directed at Ohio, which led him to authorize 580… Read More

Police Officers Across Nation Face Federal Charges For Involvement In Capitol Riots
By: Eric Westervelt | NPR
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More than two dozen off-duty officers attended the pro-Trump rally. Federal investigators will determine if they broke any the laws during the insurrection.

Athens County Law Enforcement Emphasizes Repeated Training On Use Of Force
By: Michelle Rotuno-Johnson
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — As law enforcement officers’ use of force is again in national news after the death of George Floyd, the heads of three Athens County agencies say they emphasize communication and repeated training for their officers. Since Floyd’s death on Memorial Day, people have protested across the United States and in several… Read More

Supreme Court Will Not Reexamine Doctrine That Shields Police In Misconduct Suits
By: Nina Totenberg | NPR
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Justice Clarence Thomas dissents, saying the “qualified immunity doctrine appears to stray from the statutory text.”

Chauvin And 3 Former Officers Face New Charges Over George Floyd’s Death
By: Bill Chappell | NPR
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Derek Chauvin now faces a second-degree murder charge, and three other former Minneapolis police officers are accused of aiding and abetting murder.

Hockingport Man Killed in Officer-Involved Shooting
By: WOUB News Team
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HOCKINGPORT, Ohio — An Athens County man was shot and killed by law enforcement after reportedly firing on officers investigating a domestic dispute. Chad Nicolia, 41, of Hockingport, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a press release from Sheriff Rodney Smith. The Athens County Sheriff’s Office received a report about the dispute between Nicolia… Read More

Officers Exposed to Suspected Fentanyl During W. Va. Drug Bust
By: Associated Press
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Authorities in West Virginia say several police officers were exposed to a substance believed to be the powerful opioid fentanyl during a drug bust. Huntington police Chief Hank Dial says in a news release that members of the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force entered a home on Wednesday and… Read More

Federal Jury Convicts Ex-deputy of Distributing Drugs in W. Va.
By: Associated Press
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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A jury has convicted a former West Virginia sheriff’s deputy on federal drug distribution charges. The Exponent Telegram reports jurors deliberated for four hours before returning the verdict Thursday night against former Harrison County Deputy Tim Rock. Prosecutors had called Rock “a drug dealer with a badge” in opening statements Tuesday before… Read More

W. Va. Police Referring Disabled Woman’s Forceful Arrest to FBI
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia mayor says federal authorities are being asked to look into the use of force by Charleston police during the arrest of a woman with special needs. Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said in a statement Thursday that following a series of meetings with community groups, Police Chief Opie… Read More

City Denies Vice Cops Violated Rights of Strip Club Dancers
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s capital city argues a federal court should dismiss a lawsuit by strip club dancers who allege malicious prosecution by two Columbus officers from a since-disbanded vice unit. Six women allege Kahoots Gentlemen’s Club was targeted in retaliation for firing a bouncer who claimed to work with police. The women were… Read More