Board OKs 1st Ohio standards for police use of deadly force

COLUMBUS (AP) — A state law enforcement board today established Ohio's first statewide standards for use of deadly force by police, limiting the action to officers' defense of themselves or other people from serious injury or death.

The board also adopted new statewide standards for police recruiting and hiring, setting a goal of a qualified diverse workforce, while providing equal employment opportunity.

Gov. John Kasich created the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board after a series of fatal police shootings, including the November death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland.

Ohio law enforcement agencies would have to adopt the standards as minimum department policies. Agencies also must have policies for training officers in the standards and disciplining them when violations occur.

The board will begin disseminating the standards to Ohio's 900-plus police departments, many of which already have deadly force policies in place and may exceed the state standard. But they might not have the full policy language, which includes the training and discipline elements.

By March 2017, the state's Office of Criminal Justice Services must publish a report listing which state and local departments have adopted and fully implemented the standards.

In a previous meeting, John Born, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, the board's co-chairman, noted the deadly force standard is consistent with national and international policies on force.