Attorney General Dave Yost gave an update this week on three high-profile deadly police involved shootings. One of those cases involved the shooting death of 19-year-old Arthur Keith in November at the King Kennedy public housing complex by a Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority officer. Yost announced Wednesday that a grand jury declined to indict CMHA officer James Griffiths.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation turned the other investigations over to the Franklin County prosecutor for presentation to a grand jury. One of those cases is the shooting death of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant.
Police reform bills were introduced in the spring at the statehouse, but have not continued their momentum.
Cleveland under terms of a federal consent decree signed in 2015 had been well ahead of the curve to reform its policing policies and procedures. However, turmoil has impacted the monitoring committee overseeing the work on the consent decree. This week, the police monitor, Hassan Aden, offered to rescind his acceptance of the resignation of deputy-monitor, Professor Ayesha Bell Hardaway. Her removal from the monitoring team has been roundly criticized in the community. Professor Hardaway has not said whether she will resume her work on the monitoring team.
Governor Mike DeWine has increased the resources Ohio is sending to help along the southern border with Mexico.
DeWine will deploy 185 Ohio National Guard members to the border later this year. In addition, he announced he will send 14 Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers for a two-week assignment.
People are making the most out of the summer of 2021, after losing the summer of 2020 to COVID-19. People are getting out and enjoying themselves in big numbers. But, running through the enthusiasm and exuberance for summer are reports of injuries and deaths, prompting emergency officials to remind everyone to keep safety in mind as they have fun.
Ohio's much hyped Vax-A-Million program didn't really add up to more people getting vaccinated according to researchers outside the state. A study from Boston University School of Medicine found that the lucrative incentives of a million dollars or full-scholarships did not move many of the vaccine-resistant to get the shot. The governor’s office disputes the study’s findings Governor DeWine announced the vaccine lottery on May 12. The final drawings were held on June 23.
Anna Huntsman, Health Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
Kabir Bhatia, Reporter, WKSU
Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
