President’s police task force begins Ohio sessions

January 30, 2015 at 11:05a.m.

CINCINNATI

A presidential task force gathering information on policing issues and best practices has begun two days of sessions in Cincinnati.

Panel topics Friday at the University of Cincinnati include use of force, police oversight, police interactions with demonstrators, and diversity. Saturday’s panels focus on technology and using social media.

Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell welcomed the task force Friday, while highlighting the city’s progress in police-community relations.

The Task Force on 21st Century Policing was formed in December amid continuing outcry over police use of fatal force in Ferguson, Missouri, and other cities, including Cleveland and the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek in Ohio. It will prepare a report to President Barack Obama.

The task force plans February listening sessions in Phoenix, Arizona.